


(lucky for you) that's what I like

by shxrogane (minsazucar)



Series: You deserve it baby (you deserve it all) [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Sugar Daddy AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendsheith, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romantic Comedy, Shance Big Bang 2017, Slow Burn, but so is lance so it all works out, disneyland dates, i had to cut a lot of scenes out for the sake of time but trust me...side stories are coming, perhaps the most PG "sugar daddy" au out there lol, shiro is emotionally constipated, shiro is....rich as fuck, shiro's family owns a chain of hotels, thit is so fluffy and cheesy im losing my mind, very super ultra subtle background Heith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-27 00:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12569132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minsazucar/pseuds/shxrogane
Summary: A piece of paper fell from where it had stuck to his phone and he picked it up with a frown. It was a business card. Oh, right. That guy in the expensive suit and fancy car had given it to him… so he could… repay him… Huh. That sounded a little too good to be true. Maybe he’d dreamt up the handsome stranger? But the solid proof of the card in his hand proved otherwise. He was still staring at the business card in disbelief when Hunk finally opened the door, walking in with a weary smile.“Lance, you’re early. Did you get dinner already?” Hunk called out in pleasant surprise, even as his mouth twisted at the mess around the couch.Lance tore his eyes away from the card, still thinking about the guy from earlier, “No, but I think I got a sugar daddy?”---my "accidental sugar daddy...but not really..." AU for the Shance BigBang :---)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my first ever semi-long fic for this fandom! i'm so happy to finally be done with it and put it out there~  
> i got the chance to work with two wonderful artists, [ acequeenm](https://acequeenm-art.tumblr.com/) & [nathengyn](http://nathengyn.tumblr.com/) !! 
> 
> check out their pieces in the actual fic itself! (i'll also put the rebloggable link in the endnotes for anyone that doesn't want "spoilers" lol)
> 
>  
> 
> thanks & pls enjoy!!

Lance huffed as he wove through the crowd, cursing himself as the minutes ticked closer to his shift at the coffee shop. His stupid alarm on his stupid phone had malfunctioned _again_ , almost making him late for work. Well, he would still be late for work if he didn’t get there in the next ten minutes. But it was cool, totally fine. He was only a couple blocks away. He just had to make it through this rush hour crowd and then he’d be home free!

He pulled out his shitty old phone and prayed it at least still told the time correctly. Suddenly, someone shoved hard from behind and Lance stumbled forward, clinging to his phone like a lifeline. He regained his balance, phone still intact, and turned to shoot a nasty look at whoever had pushed him. That had been the wrong move apparently, since not a second later, someone’s arm smacked him; the rogue fist knocked his phone loose and hit him square in the face, in that order.

Pain shot through Lance’s nose as he cupped it gently, groaning miserably. At least the crowd had finally dispersed, the morning commute loading and hauling the hoard of business people away. As Lance blinked tears from his eyes he noticed someone kneeling in front of him, noticed his phone held in foreign hands. His poor, shitty, outdated android phone, with the screen shattered to hell and back. Lance couldn’t help but groan again, loudly this time as he reached for his ruined device. What kind of shitty morning…

“Oh my God, I am… I am so sorry? I didn’t mean to… I mean, I didn’t see you and you just turned so suddenly… God, did I hit your face too? Oh my God, I can’t believe this I’m so, _so sorry_.”

Lance looked up at the stranger, ready to snap and give him a piece of his mind. But his brain stuttered to a stop as his eyes drank in the sight of maybe the most attractive man he’d ever seen. Dark hair with a white streak slicked back to perfectly frame his strong features, kind dark eyes accentuated by a long scar that didn’t detract from his overall handsomeness. Okay, so his morning was still shitty, but maybe not _that_ bad. No morning could be that bad when an actual Adonis was kneeled before him, staring at him worriedly and rattling apologies.

“Mm’okay dude i’s cool…” Lance managed to slur out, mouth still muffled by his hand. He was almost 99.879% certain he had a bloody nose, and like hell was he gonna let this fine specimen of man see him so wrecked.

“I’m so sorry. Shoot, look, I’m… I’m really late, I need to go. Here,” the man pulled a card from his suit pocket -- holy shit that was a nicely tailored suit and some nice biceps, no wonder Lance’s nose ached so bad -- and placed it in Lance’s free hand with his broken phone, “That’s my card, it has my personal number. Please, _please_ contact me and I swear I’ll fix this. I’ve got to go, sorry again!”

Lance watched dazedly as the man got up and jogged to a parked car, vaguely registering what a _nice_ car it was. Just as he thought, that suit was damn well tailored, tapering tastefully at a slim waist, emphasizing the dude’s broad shoulders and height and damn…

“I hate it when you go, but I love to watch you leave.” Lance murmured to himself before peeling himself off the sidewalk.

Tragically handsome stranger aside, he was still gonna be late for work if he didn’t book it. He lifted his phone to check the time and-- oh right, his phone was busted. He tucked it into his back pocket along with the hot stranger’s card and took off jogging. Even if he arrived late, maybe Allura would have mercy once she saw his bloody face.

 

 

Unsurprisingly, Lance was late to work. He was even later clocking in, as he was immediately confined to the bathroom until his nose stopped bleeding and he looked presentable again. But at least Allura hadn’t chewed him out. Lance didn’t even have to confess about accidentally sleeping in; his busted face and phone were explanation enough. The rest of the day dragged on, his face going through varying degrees of pain as he forced smiles for every customer. Allura offered to send him home early, wincing at the bruises forming under his eyes.

Any other time, Lance would’ve turned her down. He worked hard to scrounge up as many hours as he could. Lord knows he needed the money. But today had really taken a lot out of him, and he was half convinced that he would burst into tears if he was made to smile hollowly for the last three hours of his eight hour shift. So he took her up on the offer and clocked out early, dejectedly dragging himself back to his apartment.

Hunk wasn’t home yet so Lance took the chance to kick off his shoes carelessly and drape himself over the couch. He’d straighten everything up once his friend got home and heckled him for his messiness. Right now, Lance just wanted to sleep. And sleep he did. He woke up a couple hours later to the jingling of keys, a sign that Hunk was finally home. 

His head was groggy with sleep and his face was a mix of itchy and a dull, throbbing pain. Lance made to sit up but paused at the feeling of crunching in his back pocket. The day came rushing back to him and he sighed. He reached back and fished out the shattered phone from his back pocket. Pieces of the screen had flaked off by now and a few of the keys were missing. It wouldn’t even turn on at this point. Great. 

A piece of paper fell from where it had stuck to his phone and he picked it up with a frown. It was a business card. Oh, right. That guy in the expensive suit and fancy car had given it to him… so he could… repay him… Huh. That sounded a little too good to be true. Maybe he’d dreamt up the handsome stranger? But the solid proof of the card in his hand proved otherwise. He was still staring at the business card in disbelief when Hunk finally opened the door, walking in with a weary smile.

“Lance, you’re early. Did you get dinner already?” Hunk called out in pleasant surprise, even as his mouth twisted at the mess around the couch.

Lance tore his eyes away from the card, still thinking about the guy from earlier, “No, but I think I got a sugar daddy?”

“Okay, so wanna order-- hold up, you got a what now?” Hunk stopped short and stared at Lance. “Also, what happened to your _face_?”

“Long story. Better order food first, then I’ll tell you all about my amazing day.” Lance announced, reclining on the couch again.

He listened with a fond smile as Hunk rustled through the take out menus, ordering what sounded like pizza. He was a little distracted, eyes tracing the simple black print on the crumpled card in his hand. All it had was a name and personal cell number. Takashi Shirogane, eh? A nice name for a nice, handsome stranger. Lance frowned, realizing now that he had no way of calling this guy since his phone was toast. Hunk chose that moment to plop on the couch, tossing his cell on the table once the order was placed.

“Hey Hunk, lemme borrow your phone will ya?” Lance asked, already reaching for the device.

“What? Why?” He asked but made no move to stop his friend.

“Again, long story my man.” Lance smiled wryly, showing off his shattered phone.

Hunk hummed sympathetically, inspecting the broken screen, probably trying to figure out if he could fix it. Lance knew that Hunk probably _could_ fix it if given the time. But where was the fun in that? The hot guy in a fancy suit and expensive car said to call him, so that’s what Lance was gonna do. He typed the number carefully into Hunk’s phone, thumb hovering over the call button. A knot of nerves settled in his gut, wondering if the guy would even remember him, if he would still be as nice as he seemed this morning. 

“Well, only one way to find out,” he mumbled to himself with a shy smile.

He pressed call.

 

\---

 

Shiro had just gotten home and was looking for dinner when he got the call. He slid his phone out from where it vibrated in his suit pocket and frowned at the screen. That was not a number he recognized, nor was he expecting any business calls at this time. Something tickled in the back of his mind, something he was forgetting… it bothered him enough that he eventually swiped to answer the call, tentatively placing it against his ear.

“Hello, Shirogane speaking.” He answered in his normal business tone, just in case.

“Uh, hello?” 

Shiro frowned at the unsure reply, vaguely recognizing the voice. He was usually good at remembering voices when it mattered. “Hello, who is this?”

“Oh, uh, hi. The name’s Lance. You probably don’t remember me, I’m the guy from this morning. By the bus stop? Uh, my phone and face…” 

The voice trailed off and Shiro felt the pieces click into place. Of course! That guy he punched this morning. Yeah, he still felt like shit about that. If he hadn’t been late to a _very_ important meeting, he definitely would’ve stayed behind to make sure he was okay. He just felt relieved that the business card trick had worked out; the guilt might’ve eaten him alive otherwise.

“Oh, yes, of course. Yes, thank you so much for calling. Is this your number, Lance?” Shiro recovered quickly, changing to a much friendlier tone.

“No, uh, this is my friend’s phone. Mine is totally dead.” The voice chuckled but Shiro couldn’t help but wince.

“I can’t apologize enough. And your face?” He vaguely recalled the way the guy had been covering his nose.

“It’s been better.” 

Lance replied as if it was a joke, but Shiro considered it anything but. He appreciated that Lance was trying to lighten the mood and downplay the situation, but he was well aware of what he’d done. He had, albeit accidentally, assaulted a college student and damaged their property. It was bad for his conscience to leave it unresolved. _‘And bad for your company, if word got out,’_ a little voice that sounded too much like his personal lawyer whispered in his head.

Shiro shook the thought from his head quickly. It wasn’t about the company, it was about doing the right thing. 

He huffed a small breath then resumed his friendly tone. “You probably read from my card, but my name is Takashi Shirogane. Please, call me Shiro.”

“Alright then, Shiro.” Lance answered almost bashfully.

Shiro smiled as he rummaged through his desk drawer, pulling out a calculator. He liked the way his name sounded when Lance said it. He shoved that thought aside _real_ quick.

“Do you need any medical expenses paid along with the phone?” He blurted out quickly, fiddling with his calculator.

“Uh, what?” Lance sounded confused, and this time it was Shiro that chuckled.

“I’m going to send you money for a new phone, and I know I hit your face pretty hard. Did you need medical attention?” He clarified and waited anxiously for a reply. He didn’t mind paying more, but he really hoped he hadn’t hurt Lance that badly...

“No, dude, it’s fine. Just some bruising. Nose ain’t even broken.”

Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. I would hate to hear I broke some nice student’s nose.”

“How’d you know I was a student?” Lance asked, even more confused.

“Oh, you were wearing a Garrison Tech hoodie. Did I assume wrong?” Shiro chuckled nervously; he was often quite observant, but maybe it was weird that he’d noticed...

“No, no, you’re right. I’m a student at GT.” Lance replied quickly, sounding almost excited.

_Cute._

“What are you studying?” Shiro couldn’t help but ask, growing more curious by the second.

“I just started my masters in Marine Biology.” Lance answered enthusiastically and Shiro smiled.

“A grad student then.” He couldn’t help but sound impressed; so he was a bit older than Shiro first assumed.

“Y-yeah.” Lance chuckled, bashful again it seemed.

“Alright then, grad student Lance, if you feel comfortable giving me your routing number, I can wire you some money for a new phone.” 

Shiro really wanted to keep chatting, but he wasn’t keen on overstepping any social norms just yet. At the end of the day, this was a business call. He just needed to _remember_ that.

“Oh, uh, yeah dude. Thanks. That helps a lot. Hold on a sec, please?” Lance excused himself and Shiro let out a sigh.

While waiting for Lance to come back with the information, he took it upon himself to google how much a new phone even cost. What kind of model was Lance going to buy? Shiro couldn’t recall what kind of phone he’d smashed. Well, better safe than sorry. iPhones tended to run on the higher end of prices, so he looked at those first. The newest, most expensive phone retailed at around $900. Oh, was that all? He’d definitely throw in another hundred dollars or so for taxes. He closed out of the search and switched back to the call, still waiting for Lance. He heard muffled shouts and rustling on the other end and couldn’t help but smile again.

“Hello! Okay I’m back, found my bank stuff.” Lance definitely sounded winded and Shiro bit back a chuckle.

“Great. Ready when you are.” He wrote down the numbers carefully as Lance recited them, then went back once more to make sure there were no errors.

“I’m going to need your full name.” Shiro fiddled with his pen, scrunching his nose as he heard Lance mumble some curses on the line.

“Uh, it’s long. Bear with me.” Lance warned with a sigh.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Shiro drawled playfully.

“Leandro Alejandro Núñez Cuesta Espinoza.” Lance recited dutifully, breathing a laugh afterwards. “Lance is an acronym-slash-nickname.”

Shiro was silent for a moment, pen held still because he wasn’t able to spell any of that. His English was good, but not _that_ good. 

“Well, alright then. Spell that for me, please?” He replied with a chuckle.

Lance agreed with another shy laugh of his own. He spelled out each part of his name slowly, only continuing when Shiro hummed encouragingly. His brows furrowed at the accents he had to add to a couple letters, proving that, yes, this name was definitely not in English, so he could _not_ be blamed for being confused. 

“Sorry, hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s your homeland? This name isn’t English.” 

Lance laughed heartily at that and Shiro felt himself flush. Was that a dumb question? It probably was, shoot, how embarrassing...

“It’s a Spanish name, I’m Cuban actually.” Lance replied with a smile in his voice.

Spanish, of course! It was the second most common language in this country. Shiro should probably spend some more time becoming familiar with the language, especially in such a diverse city as San Francisco. He’d have his assistant figure something out that fit his schedule.

“How long have you been in this country?”

“I was born here dude.” Lance replied friendly enough, but Shiro could detect a hint of exasperation in his tone.

He hadn’t meant it to sound rude, but maybe it had been taken that way. Shiro scrambled to recover; he’d only been curious since he hadn’t been here that long himself. Oh, well, he could just say that he supposed. Shiro cleared his throat and chuckled nervously.

“Ah, I see. Well I’m Japanese, and I’ve been here for a couple months now.” He felt the tension bleed from his shoulders at Lance’s surprised noise.

“Oh, no way. Just a couple months? But your English is great?”

Shiro smiled to himself a bit at the praise. “I spoke English in Japan too. Besides Mandarin, English is the language of business.” 

“Huh. Makes sense. But you sound really natural, not all formal and stuff.” Lance continued, sounding genuinely curious.

“Thank you. I have a friend from the U.S. that helped me with my casual speech for years now.”

Speaking of said friend, Keith would be getting home soon. Shiro kind of really didn’t want this call to end; he’d been enjoying their short conversation so far. But the last thing Shiro wanted was for Keith to walk in on him when he was no doubt smiling like a fool for no good reason. So, with a sigh Shiro moved back to his desk and fiddled with the paper containing Lance’s information. There didn’t seem to be anything missing, no real reason to continue the conversation, sadly.

“Okay Lance, I think we’re all set. I’ll call my banker and have the funds transferred overnight. A thousand dollars should cover it, right?”

There was a brief moment of silence followed by what sounded like someone choking. Shiro furrowed his brow as Lance started coughing a fit on the other side, before wheezing out a reply.

“That’s a little much, don’t you think?”

“I googled prices while you searched for your bank info, trust me.” Shiro smiled, glad he took the time to do that. “Hope it all works out. Sorry again.”

“No, dude, seriously stop apologizing. You’re literally buying me a new phone. That’s… thank you. Thanks so much, Shiro.” 

“Of course, it’s the least I could do.” Shiro’s smile faltered as he heard the locks of his door rattle, meaning Keith was home. “I’ve got to go. Have a good night Lance.”

“Y-yeah, goodnight Shiro.” 

There was an edge in his voice that Shiro couldn’t quite place; he hesitated to call it disappointment. But it didn’t stop him from ending the call, and just in time. Keith walked in with arms full of bags. They stared at each other for a tense moment, Keith’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as he lets the door close behind him.

“Who were you talking to?” Keith asked as he made his way towards the kitchen.

“A client.” Shiro answered nonchalantly, putting on his best poker face. He just had to remain calm. Keith could _smell_ fear.

The younger man huffed at that, violet eyes glimmering, but he seemed to let it go. For now. He plopped the bags on the counter and started digging through them.

“I got Thai food for dinner.” Keith announced, holding out a container of pad thai in Shiro’s direction.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” Shiro whispered reverently, clutching the greasy take out food like a lifeline.

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “I’m the _only_ friend you’ve ever had.”

“Rude.”

“Just get over here and eat already.” 

Shiro grumbled but joined his friend on the couch, taking comfort in the familiar company. He’d have to get up in a bit to call his personal accountant about the overnight cash transfer. It really shouldn’t be an issue, he was just worrying for the sake of it. He’d check in with Lance tomorrow evening and make sure everything worked out. And then, that would be the end of that. Shiro frowned, a knot of unease settling in his gut at the thought.

He’d blame it on the pad thai for now. 

 

\---

 

When Lance woke up the next morning and checked his bank account, he almost choked. He had Hunk come and double check to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. But it was real: that Shiro dude had really wired him a thousand dollars overnight. This all felt like a really weird, but slightly arousing dream. 

Arousing, like in the way having a thousand dollars at your disposal made you feel. Lance felt like he was on cloud nine.

Of course, the feeling didn’t last forever. His frugal nature kicked in as soon as he walked into the phone store. He upgraded from an android to an iPhone at least, and even if it wasn’t the newest model, it was definitely better than anything he’d owned before. Lance only ended up spending a little over half of what Shiro had wired him. What was he supposed do with the other few hundred dollars?

Lance looked around his room once he got home, searching for Shiro’s card again. He found it crumpled in yesterday’s pants and entered the number in his new phone. He didn’t hesitate to call this time, knowing now how kind the other man really was. It was that very kindness which compelled him to call and attempt to return the leftover money. 

And maybe he also just wanted another excuse to talk to him. 

The thought had Lance blushing, but he chased it away as he raised the phone to his ear. The line rang a few times before going to voicemail and Lance frowned. He perked up after the line beeped and left a message.

“Hi there Shiro, it’s me again, Lance. From yesterday. Uh, yeah anyways I got a new phone, which I’m calling you from! Thanks again so much for replacing my busted phone, I appreciate it. Uh, yeah but I’m calling because I didn’t use all the money. I think I have like a good $400 left over? I wanted to know how to, like, return that to you. Yeah, let me know. Again, it’s Lance, uh okay, bye.”

He hung up and stared at his phone for a good 10 minutes following the call, half expecting Shiro to ring back any moment. He soon realized how ridiculous he was being; Shiro seemed like a busy man, with a busy job, that probably mattered more than immediately returning Lance’s call. He set his phone down at his desk and forced himself to walk away. It was best not to overthink things.

For the first time in a long time, Lance had an evening completely free. No work, no school, not even any last minute assignments he needed to scramble for. Hunk was going to be out all night, staying in the labs to finish some mechanics project with his team. So, he had no pressing obligations _and_ an apartment all to himself?

“It’s a treat yo’self type of night.” He smiled to himself, skipping to his bathroom.

Treating himself consisted of taking a bubble bath while sipping some step-above-cheap rosé wine. Nights like this were a rarity nowadays. He’d learned to never take a free night like this for granted, and didn’t hesitate to indulge himself just a bit. Granted, his undergrad days were worse, but even after all these years it was still hard to really catch a break. 

But things _had_ been getting better lately. Slowly, but surely. Financial aid covered a lot more of his expenses this time around, so much so that he didn’t have to break his back working two jobs. His monthly stipend and income from his cafe job provided at least the bare minimum to survive. San Francisco was an expensive city to live in, after all. But together with Hunk, they somehow managed to do it.

Sure, he and Hunk sometimes had to do the ramen diet when money got tight. And sure, he would like to indulge in some higher end products more than once a year. He’d like to not have anxiety every time he went to pay some bills. He could have avoided this all, if he’d just stayed in Arizona. He could have stayed home and not had rent to pay, groceries to buy, utilities to ration. 

The only real cost would have been his passions.

Lance was content with what he had. More than content, honestly, despite the financial struggle. He had so many good things to make up for it. He had amazing friends and lived in an amazing city, he studied at the school of his dreams, doing what he loved. Even at his lowest moments, he couldn’t find it in himself to regret leaving.

And hey! Sometimes, those little happy miracles came along. Like Shiro, a punch of mercy to the face. God, Lance had been needing a new phone for _years_ , and now he had one; all it had cost him was some minor facial bruising.

Lance emerged from his impromptu spa night feeling truly rejuvenated. Life was full of blessings if you just kept your heart open to receive them. Well, at least that’s what his mom always said. Lance did his best to live by her advice because, well, mom was always right. Right?

Wrapped in his robe and fuzzy slippers, Lance strolled into his room and dove straight for the bed. He startled a bit when something vibrated then groaned, realizing it must be his phone he tossed aside earlier. He groped around for his phone, reluctant to get up and properly search. With a small noise of triumph he held up his new phone and rolled onto his back, squinting at the bright notification on his screen.

It was a text message, from some number. Oh wait, was that Shiro’s number? Fuck.

[unknown, 7:52pm] _Hello Lance. Got your message, was in a meeting. Please keep the extra money, consider it part of the apology. You can also keep my number if you’d like. :)_

Lance stared at the text until the screen went black. Then he swiped open the screen and stared at the message some more. _No fucking way…_

He needed to lay down. Good thing he was already in bed.

He forced his body to relax back into the pillows and stared at the ceiling, collecting his thoughts. Okay, Mr. Shiro Money Pants wanted him to keep the extra $400. That was super generous of him, and Lance honestly really and truly appreciated it. He could add it to his meager savings account or put it towards his next tuition payment; the possibilities were endless. But, Shiro also said to keep his phone number, if he wanted. Smiley face emoji and all.

What was _that_ supposed to mean?

Suddenly, yesterday’s joke about finding a sugar daddy wasn’t so funny anymore. Was he seriously being _propositioned_? The possibility sent his mind spinning. But… Shiro hadn’t really struck him as that type. Granted, Lance had only talked to him on two occasions, but he was pretty good at reading people usually. Shiro, both times, had come off as _sincere_ , above all else.

Lance also couldn’t lie to himself and say he _wasn’t_ interested in Shiro. Their conversation last night had been awkward, but sweet. Shiro seemed very sweet. And also hot as hell. And not _that_ much older than him. At the very least, maybe they could be friends? Lance had never had a rich friend before.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He picked his phone back up and opened the text again. He hovered over the ‘save contact’ button before just going for it. He had the perfect contact name in mind too. His lips twitched as he saved the contact, under the name “Shiro the Hero.” Next, he had to think of what to text back. He typed up a quick message and hit send without overthinking it.

Sometimes in life, you had to take that little leap of faith. Lance closed his eyes and jumped.

 

\---

 

Shiro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and smiled despite himself. No doubt that was Lance with his ‘good morning’ text, punctual as always. He wouldn’t admit it, but he looked forward to those messages every morning, right at 8am. But checking it would have to wait. He schooled his features back into his signature poker face; he was in the middle of a board meeting, no time to act like a blushing schoolgirl.

It had been three weeks since he’d met Lance. When he’d texted Lance that first evening, telling him to keep his number, he hadn’t quite expected this. This, meaning daily good morning texts, being spammed with memes, and (his favorite) snapchats of every dog Lance saw when he left his apartment. He hadn’t expected Lance to be so… energetic.

But not once did he regret it.

Sure, it had been impulsive of him; giving out his number to near strangers had never been his _thing_. And he’d been a little nervous at Lance’s first reply that night as well.

[Lance, 9:57 pm] _That’s awfully generous of you, apology accepted and thank you~ but letting me keep your number might be the price you gotta pay ;--) Night Shiro_

He hadn’t known what to make of that. Apparently it was Lance’s warning concerning just _how much_ the guy texted. Shiro didn’t always have time to respond -- mostly he just didn’t know what to say -- but he did his best to at least send back a smiley face every so often.

That trend didn’t last very long. After a couple days of that, Lance had sent a super long apology text, saying he’d stop texting so much if it was annoying. Shiro had actually excused himself in the middle of a meeting to send back a frantic response. He very much did not want Lance to stop. He _liked_ feeling his phone vibrate throughout the day, liked when his screen was filled with notifications from the other man.

All his texts made him feel a little less lonely.

It took a bit of convincing but Lance finally believed him about not being annoyed. Shiro had offered his snapchat info as an olive branch. Funny enough, Shiro had never used his snapchat, not since he first made it. And why would he, when his only non-business contacts were Keith and his parents?

Well, now he had Lance, and his snapchat was more active than ever. Truth be told, it was actually kind of fun. Shiro still didn’t quite know how to respond half the time, but his blurry office pics with smile emojis seemed to suffice. Now, three weeks into this endeavor, Shiro would even dare call Lance his friend.

His friend… who he still hadn’t told anyone about. Yet. He was just… waiting for the right moment, okay? A moment like now: curled up on the couch with a glass of wine, so engrossed in talking to Lance that he hadn’t heard Keith come in.

“Who ya texting?” Keith breathed right in his ear.

It took every ounce of self control not to jump off the couch with a scream. As it were, Shiro jerked away, heart racing, and stared accusingly at his asshole friend.

“Jesus Keith, warn a man, will you?” He cried, frowning as Keith laughed.

“Hey, not my fault that you’re so focused on your phone you didn’t hear me.”

Shiro readied a retort but didn’t need to use it, since Keith was already walking away. He grumbled something about taking a nap, taking off towards his room. Shiro sighed in relief as Keith disappeared from view, but tensed back up when his phone buzzed. 

He was currently engaged in a vigorous debate (he refused to call it an argument) with Lance about his dietary habits. Earlier, Lance had sent him some snaps while shopping with Hunk, moaning about having to do the “ramen diet” again. When Shiro had asked what that meant, Lance explained that it was a way to cut expenses when they were tight on money; aka, they would eat nothing but top ramen for almost two weeks to save money on groceries. Shiro frowned as he read the newest message.

[Lance, 8:57pm] _dude honestly it’s fine! it’s not the first time we’ve done this, and it probably won’t be the last._

Shiro was appalled.

[8:57 pm] _Have you already used that extra money from when I replaced your phone?_

[Lance, 9:00 pm] _that better not be an accusation mister_  
[Lance, 9:01 pm] _yes, i had to use it unfortunately. there was a leak in our kitchen and the insurance couldn’t cover everything. sucked ass tbh._

[9:03 pm] _Why didn’t you tell me?_

[Lance, 9:04 pm] _why would i?_

[9:04 pm] _I could’ve helped out! I have your bank info still. I can wire you some money if you’d like._

[Lance, 9:08 pm] _woah, dude, slow down there. you don’t gotta do that. it’s not like im dying or anything. it’s just ramen._

Was Shiro overstepping his bounds? True, he hadn’t known Lance all that long, but this is what he’d do for any of his friends. He’d done stuff like this countless times for Keith, too, so this wasn’t any different. Just like Lance had his quirks, Shiro had his, and one of those quirks was the need to take care of people.

[9:09 pm] _Lance, do you consider us friends?_

[Lance, 9:09 pm] _of course i do!!_

Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, so they were on the same page. Good to know. He took a minute to compose his next text.

[9:12 pm] _Good. Me too. And this is how I treat my friends. Let me help you out. Please?_

Shiro stared at his phone, anxiously waiting for a reply. For the second time that night, he was so distracted by his phone that Keith snuck up on him, _again_.

“Okay but seriously, _who_ are you _texting_?”

Keith plopped down on the couch across from Shiro. He had that sharp edge to his eyes, the one that meant Shiro wasn’t gonna get out of this conversation without spilling the truth. They sat in a tense silence, a battle of wills almost, until Shiro inevitably gave in.

He diverted his eyes with a sigh, trying to think of the least embarrassing way to explain things. 

“You have to promise not to laugh,” he grumbled, almost pouting at Keith.

“Shiro, you know me. I can’t possibly promise that.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. Asshole.

With no other choice, Shiro chugged the rest of his wine before delving into the story of Lance Espinosa. After his brief but thorough retelling, Keith stared at him pensively for a while before speaking.

“So, first you give this dude a black eye, and now you’re trying to be his sugar daddy?”

“Keith!” Shiro sputtered, face turning red.

“What! It’s the truth!” Keith yelled back, lips twitching, fighting back a smile.

“I’m- that’s not- no!” Shiro felt his entire face flush, mortified beyond belief. That wasn’t the situation at all!

“Alright, alright, whatever you say.”

Keith let the topic drop, but Shiro knew he wasn’t convinced. He looked at his phone with a frown. Lance still hadn’t texted him back. He chewed his lip nervously, thinking maybe he _had_ crossed a line. He sighed and glanced up, confirming that Keith was still watching him. He seemed more amused than anything, that brat.

“So, whatcha talking about?” He drawled playfully and Shiro frowned even deeper, if that was possible.

“I’m trying to convince him to let me send him some shopping money.”

Too little too late, Shiro realized how bad that phrase sounded. Keith burst out laughing as Shiro rushed to explain himself.

“Grocery money! Money for _food_ shopping! Stop laughing!”

“I’m just saying, you’re kind of totally being a sugar daddy.”

“Keith, we’re friends. I help my friends. I mean, I pay for your stuff all the time too.” Shiro reasoned in a more serious tone, hoping to get his point across.

“Hm, guess so.” He shrugged and sat back.

Keith’s eyes suddenly narrowed in thought. Then he sat up even further, eyes bright as if just having made a startling realization. Shiro dreaded the next words out of his mouth.

“Holy shit. You’re _my_ sugar daddy too. Do I have to call you daddy now?”

“Keith! Get out!” Shiro yelled, face crimson, kicking a foot out at his friend.

Keith dodged it with ease, hopping up and skipping to safety, cackling all the way.

“Whatever you say, _daddy_.” He teased before disappearing into the hallway.

“Oh my God…” Shiro breathed incredulously, sinking further into his plush couch cushions.

He should’ve known better than to trust Keith. Just then, his phone vibrated and all other thoughts faded away. Shiro slowly lifted the phone to read Lance’s text, smile slowly forming as he went.

[Lance, 9:28 pm] _I’m gonna take your word, that you’d do this for any of your friends. Last thing I want is to be your charity case. So promise me it’s out of friendship, and then I’ll be eternally grateful if you could help me avoid eating ramen until I puke._

[9:30 pm] _I sincerely promise you, this is out of friendship. I’ll wire you some grocery money tomorrow. Thank you, Lance._

[Lance, 9:31 pm] _no, thank YOU dude, seriously. do you know how bad all that sodium is for my skin?? ugh._

Shiro’s smile was full blown by now. Lance was back to his talkative self, and he’d accepted his offer. Now, that just left one more question...

“Keith, how much do groceries cost?” He shouted.

“How should I know! You buy me everything!” Keith yelled back.

Well, he had a point. But… Shiro had never been grocery shopping, at least not in America. He had a personal cook who did that for him. He got up and moved to his desk. His cook turned in receipts so he could keep track of monthly expenses, but truth be told, Shiro never really looked them over. The cook made good food, and that’s what mattered. He shuffled through some papers until he found the folder of receipts. The most recent receipt, which had been enough food for him and Keith for a week, totaled just over $200. So, he’d double that and it should be enough for two people, for two weeks. Simple math.

He only hoped it was enough.

 

\---

 

“Hunk, holy fuck!”

Lance burst into his apartment late the next day, arms spilling over with bags from the farmer’s market.

“Lance, what the- _woah_.” Hunk rushed forward and grabbed half the bags, helping Lance dump them in their cramped kitchen. “What- I mean, how- _dude_ , where’d you get all this from?”

Hunk gawked at the sheer amount of fresh produce and Lance felt a swell of affection. He was glad he took up Shiro on his offer, if only to be able to see Hunk so excited. His best friend soon turned away from admiring the kale bushels and pinned him with a questioning gaze. Lance swallowed nervously and tried covering it with a short laugh.

“So… you remember Shiro, yeah?” Lance started, slowly.

“Yeah, you only talk about him, like, every day.” Hunk scoffed good-naturedly.

Then he froze, letting silence hang between them as he connected the dots.

“Lance, are you implying that Shiro bought these groceries for us?”

“Maybe?”

“How? _Why_?” He sputtered, wide eyed, and Lance felt himself blush.

“He saw me complaining about ramen on snapchat and said he was concerned for my health.” He shrugged bashfully, helping to put away the groceries. “For the record, I did turn him down at first, but he’s… very convincing.”

“How much money did he send you?”

“Oh, you know, just…” Lance trailed off in a mumble, hoping Hunk was too busy ogling the truffle mushrooms to notice.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

Damn, no dice. Lance sighed.

“He sent me $500.”

Hunk almost dropped the eggs in shock. Lance spoke up before Hunk had a chance to recover.

“I know! I reacted the same way. I thought maybe he accidentally put one too many zeroes in there. But no, I called him this morning, and the dude just doesn’t know what ‘normal people groceries’ cost.”

“How can he _not_ know?”

“He’s never shopped in America, he said. Oh, but he has a personal cook. _Apparently_ , this is the amount _they_ spend on groceries.”

“Uh, did you tell him that’s ridiculous?”

“Oh trust me, I tried. But he had to go to a meeting and just told me to keep the extra.” Lance waved his arms around, clearly still exasperated.

The two finished packing away the groceries in a comfortable silence. Just like Lance was good at reading people, Hunk was good at reading the mood. He could tell Lance would prefer to cool down, and he respected that by keeping quiet. It wasn’t until much later, when they were chilling on the couch, that Hunk brought it up again.

“Hey, I know Shiro’s nice and all, and you’re becoming friends. But like…” Hunk sighed. “You know, just be careful man. Like, he really could be trying to sugar daddy you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I mean, I’m fine with that. He’s hot and like, not _that_ old. Dude can’t be over 30.” Lance replied, feigning indifference.

“Not the point.” Hunk groaned, clearly not amused.

“Just enjoy the fresh parsley, will you?” He waved him off with a smirk and Hunk grumbled.

Lance’s face softened as soon as Hunk’s attention was off him and back on the TV. He appreciated the concern, and honestly, he had the same concerns; but the last thing he wanted was to worry his big Hunk of Love. And besides, Shiro seemed harmless enough so far. From what he’d read online -- a search he’d later deny doing -- Shiro really didn’t exhibit any sugar daddy behaviors.

Well, besides the whole ‘giving out obscene amounts of money.’

But that didn’t even quite count, because he hadn’t asked for anything in return. He didn’t seem to be expecting anything from Lance. He’d definitely proceed with some caution for a while; a super nice, super rich, super generous guy suddenly befriending Lance? It was too good to be true.

For now, however, he’d trust his gut. And his gut told him Shiro was genuine and sweet and Lance _really_ wanted to get to know him better. As a friend, of course.

Just… a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk about y'all.....but that's a whole lot of money for groceries. my family of 3 can successfully stock our fridge for a week or to on $100-150 so like....shiro, bro, wyd...
> 
> (hope y'all enjoyed, next part will be out on sunday!)


	2. Chapter 2

When Lance was a kid, he liked to dream big. Maybe it had something to do with being the youngest, maybe it was just in his nature. He dreamed of swimming in the stars and talking to giant humpback whales, of going to the places too seldom explored. His family, bless their hearts, did their best to encourage his interests, no matter how left-field they got.

It was because of them that he’d made it this far. When he entered high school and decided the ocean was his calling, more so than the stars, his mother had sighed. How typical of him to go the harder route. Arizona wasn’t known for their marine biology programs after all; it would’ve been simpler had he decided on astronomy, having wonderful programs so close to home. They didn’t want him to leave home so soon, so young, it just wasn’t their culture. 

But his mind was set, and once his parents accepted that, they put all their energy into making sure he’d be able to go. 

Just because Lance had chosen the ocean didn’t mean his love for the stars disappeared. He attended any and all of the free specialty lectures hosted by the campus astronomy program. He exploited the hell out of his student discount at the city’s planetarium. If he’d had the time and money, he probably would’ve gotten a minor in astronomy by now; as it stood, he had all the knowledge, just no piece of paper to certify it. Bummer.

Lance sighed, shaking off the momentary negativity; there was no time for that. He focused back on the shelf in front of him.

He was at his favorite bookstore, wasting time until his shift at the cafe down the street started. It was a two-story bookshop, filled to the brim with both new and used books, in just about every subject you could think of. Today, he was browsing the astronomy section, trying to spot any new arrivals.

Something caught his eye on the top shelf. Lance didn’t hesitate to grab the step stool and climb up, coming face to face with the most _beautiful_ books. A collection of vintage star charts. There were three books in total, all leather-bound and in relatively amazing condition. When he gingerly opened one, he was delighted to see that the maps were all hand-drawn. He had to hold back a couple of tears, they were that beautiful.

Lance wondered how these books had ended up here, instead of some museum.

He looked around for some sort of price tag, even though he knew he couldn’t afford them. There was a note card on the shelf, reading ‘please speak to management if interested.’ That was the polite way of saying ‘obscenely expensive, peasants don’t touch.’ Lance sighed and placed the books back on the shelf.

He whipped out his phone and added a few pics to his snap-story, filled with crying emojis, before climbing down. He threw back one more longing gaze at the book collection before moving on. It was about time for his shift to start anyways. He tucked his phone away and did his best not to think about it.

 

 

“Lance! Go take your lunch break. This is your final warning.”

Lance turned at the sound of Allura’s voice, ready to fight her again. He’d been making such good tips, he was practically on a customer service high right now. The last thing he needed was to lose his mojo during his break. But Allura had that no nonsense look in her eye and Lance’s argument died on his tongue. With a half-hearted salute, he trudged off to the break room.

Now that he sat down, it hit him just how tired he was, and how _hungry_. Alright, so Allura might’ve had a point, he supposed. As he waited for his food to warm up, he dug his phone out of his pocket and powered it on. He usually switched it off during work, the itch to check the screen really distracting on certain days. Keeping it off really helped suppress the urge.

Lance smiled to himself when he saw a few notifications from Shiro pop up. Almost a month of regular texting and he _still_ got butterflies every time. He sat down with his food and opened the newest texts.

[Shiro the Hero, 11:35 am] _What’s stellar cartography?_  
[Shiro the Hero, 11:40 am] _It was the title of those books you put on snapchat. It looked interesting._  
[Shiro the Hero, 12:51 pm] _I realize now that you’re at work, hope your day is going well. I ended up googling it, but I’d still like to hear your thoughts._

Lance smiled wide between bites of ravioli. Shiro had gotten a lot more comfortable with texting recently and it was cute to see this new side of him.

[5:03 pm] _on my lunch break now. the day has been awesome so far, like literally zero (0) bad customers. im on cloud 9_  
[5:05 pm] _dude you should’ve seen those books! all the maps were done by hand and the charts were super thorough. like, instant nut dude._

[Shiro the Hero, 11:35 am] _Haha, wow, you must really like astronomy then :) I’ve never heard you talk about it. Just about marine biology._

[5:10 pm] _im always a slut for space_  
[5:12 pm] _and yeah ive been swamped with school so i haven’t given enough time to my hobbies, aka geeking out at the planetarium lol_

[Shiro the Hero, 5:15 pm] _I haven’t been to the planetarium here yet. It must be nice to have caught your interest. What bookstore were you at? I haven’t seen it before._

[5:17 pm] _green apple! It’s on clement and 6th. just down the street from my job. it’s my faaaave._

[Shiro the Hero, 11:35 am] _It looked nice. Cozy. I enjoy books. I have a library at home. Sad I don’t have as much time to read as I used to._

Lance stifled a small laugh. That was actually super cute. Lance wouldn’t have pegged Shiro for a nerd on first glance, but after getting to know him better, he wasn’t that surprised. 

[5:22 pm] _hah, what a nerd :P_  
[5:22 pm] _jk i love nerds_

Yikes, that was a little flirty, wasn’t it? Oops.

[5:23 pm] _and def check out that bookshop some time! it’s real cool_

[Shiro the Hero, 11:35 am] _I will. Thank you, Lance._

[5:29 pm] _np! gotta go, breaks over. talk later?_

Lance powered off his phone, no time to wait for a reply. He shoveled the rest of the lukewarm ravioli in his mouth. His mood was still pretty lifted, thanks to Shiro, and he wondered how many tips he could make in the next three hours. He was ready to set a new record.

\---

“Where are we going again?” Keith groaned as they trudged down the crowded sidewalks.

“Green Apple bookstore.” Shiro answered blandly, squinting at his GPS before taking a right down Geary.

“Okay, wrong question. Why am I going with you?”

Shiro paused and glanced over stoically. 

“Because you weren’t doing anything important, _and_ I’m still pissed off about the whole ‘daddy’ thing.”

Keith had called Shiro ‘daddy’ for a full three days after that night. He was permanently scarred. Merely a shell of what he once was. An innocence was stolen from him, and by his best friend no less.

“Oh, so you’re bossing me around now?” Keith drawled suggestively.

Shiro clenched his fist and started reciting the alphabet backwards. It was his surefire calm down method. If he were to punch Keith in public, he’d be arrested, no doubt. They couldn’t have that happening. Shiro had things to do, people to see, books to buy…

“Oh look, we’re here.” Shiro announced cheerily.

Keith grumbled but followed him inside. Wow, Lance hadn’t been kidding. This store was amazing, right up Shiro’s alley. Even Keith seemed to simmer down once he started looking around. Honestly, Shiro could probably spend a whole day browsing this shop. But he only had an hour and he was here for a reason.

“Excuse me, where’s your astronomy section?” Shiro called out to the nearest employee.

Soon enough, he was in the upstairs section, scanning the shelves of astronomy books. Shiro had always loved space as a child. Were he born under different circumstances, he’d like to think he’d be an astronaut. Instead, he’d been groomed to take over the family’s hotel business. But, as the saying goes, no use crying over spilt milk.

After a bit of searching, he found what he was looking for. There, on the top shelf, sat three rather large leather-bound books; in elegant scrawl along the binding were the words ‘stellar cartography.’ Shiro reached up and plucked them out, needing to get on his tiptoes. Carefully, he carried them all downstairs and plopped them by the register.

“Hi, I need to speak to a manager. I’m interested in purchasing these books.”

 

 

“Wow, okay, _how_ much did you end up paying for these?”

Keith had spent a good ten minutes gawking at the book collection once they got home. He hadn’t seen Shiro leave to buy the books, too engrossed in the wide paranormal selection to be bothered. He’d almost had to drag him out by the collar.

“That’s not important. What matters now is… how do I get them to Lance?”

In his excitement, he’d kind of forgotten to consider the delivery method. He paced around his living room, fighting the urge to bite his nails. It was an old nervous habit of his, one he’d been working hard on breaking ever since he got his prosthetic arm. Nails and skin grew back if chewed, metal and plastic not so much.

“Shiro, calm down.” Keith’s voice helped ground him and his friend plopped down with a sigh. Also, in his typical fashion, Keith couldn’t help but tease. “Also, I didn’t know these were for _Lance_.”

“Don’t start with that again. Please.” He hoped his desperation was evident; he couldn’t deal with another round of ‘daddy’ jokes.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, why don’t you just take it to him?”

“Do what now.”

Keith shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. Shiro couldn’t relate.

“You know where he works, right? Just give it to him there. Maybe surprise him. It’s romantic… I think.” Keith grumbled but Shiro didn’t miss the dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“Keith, I appreciate the honest advice. But I’m not trying to romance Lance. Heh, that rhymed.”

Keith raised a brow at that.

“What?” Shiro huffed.

“Oh, nothing, don’t mind me.” Keith raised his arms in surrender, getting up and heading to his room.

“Keith, wait. I’m not romancing him!” He called out after his friend. “Also, help me pick out an outfit! Please? Keith, buddy?”

\---

Lance groaned and blindly groped at his nightstand where his phone alarm was blaring some pop song. He really needed to change that song soon. He blinked blearily at the bright screen and was surprised to see a text from Shiro. That was weird. Shiro rarely ever texted first, and especially never this early. Good morning texts were _Lance’s_ thing.

[Shiro the Hero, 5:15 am] _Good morning Lance. Are you working at Altea Cafe today?_

[5:15 am] _wow, beat me to the morning text lol. and yeah, doing a full 9-5 shift today._

Lance sighed and forced himself out of bed. Speaking of work, he had to start getting ready for that. Lance had a certain image to maintain after all. It took time and effort to look as good as he did every day. He was so caught up in completing his morning routine that he didn’t even realize how odd Shiro’s question seemed. But it was too late to ask now. He’d probably just been trying to start a conversation, but didn’t know how. The thought made him smile.

It was just one of Shiro’s many quirks that Lance found endearing.

He finished his morning routine and was out the door in record time. With how long he took primping every morning, he sure was lucky Altea Cafe was only a few blocks away from his apartment. He jogged in and greeted Allura right on time, without even breaking a sweat.

Morning shifts at the cafe were nice. Less busy, more regulars. The downside was less customers meant less tips, but Lance could deal with that every now and again. It wasn’t healthy to work himself ragged and he was lucky Allura wasn’t the type of boss to let that happen. She was the best, even if she always shot down his flirting with an icy glare.

The morning hours seemed to drag on, the way they did when there wasn’t much work to be done. Lance had half a mind to take his lunch break early, hoping that when he came back there’d be some action. Just as he was getting ready to find Allura, _she_ found _him_ instead. She was wearing an odd expression, caught somewhere between worry and amusement. She stopped in front of him, glancing over her shoulder occasionally, and he offered her an equally confused smile.

“There’s someone at the front asking for you. He told me his name was Shiro. Do you know him?”

Lance felt his heart skip a beat. That couldn’t be right. Why would he be _here_?

“Uh, yeah, I know him. Like, you’re sure it’s him, though? Tall, buff Asian dude?”

Allura nodded slowly, watching Lance closely. He was fidgeting a bit nervously and his face felt flush; it didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. She smirked and checked her watch.

“Lance, why don’t you go and take this new customer to his seat. And then, take your lunch break. I won’t complain if you go a little over the allotted time, just this once. Got it?”

Allura left no room for discussion, not even giving Lance a chance to answer before turning smartly on her heel and strutting away. Lance floundered for a moment before sighing and accepting his fate. He put on his winning customer service smile and made his way to the front. When he caught sight of Shiro, however, his rehearsed greeting died in his throat.

“Holy shit.”

His voice had barely been above a whisper, but with the way Shiro immediately looked his way, Lance was worried he’d heard. But then Shiro smiled and lifted a hand to wave timidly, as if trying not to draw attention to himself. Like _that_ was possible.

Lance’s brief encounter with the dude all those weeks ago really didn’t do him justice. Shiro was absolutely gorgeous. He was only wearing some dark slacks and a gray button up with the sleeves rolled, but he might as well have walked right off the runway. That just wasn’t fair. Even the streak of white hair in his bangs looked good, only adding to the overall effect. It was hard to associate this Adonis of a man with the awkward sweetheart he now _knew_ Shiro to be.

When Lance got closer, Shiro diverted his eyes almost bashfully. He shuffled his feet and didn’t quite seem to know what to do with his hand, tucking it in and out of his pocket. Was he… nervous? Lance felt his lips twitch into a smile. That realization gave him the surge of confidence he needed to finally greet his friend.

“Hey man, this is a surprise.” 

Lance called out jovially, hoping to put Shiro’s nerves at ease. He considered it a success when Shiro’s shoulders relaxed, proving he’d been a bit tense before.

“Good, I was trying to surprise you. I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time? You’ve told me morning shifts are slow so… I can come back later though?” He still seemed uncertain and Lance was quick to put aside those fears.

“No! It’s fine, you’re right. Slow morning. I’m actually just about to go on break. Wanna sit with me?”

“Yes. That would be great.” The relief in Shiro’s tone was almost palpable.

Lance smiled and motioned for Shiro to follow him, trying hard to quell his own nervous energy. The cafe was still nearly empty at this time, only a couple of tables occupied, but Lance still took care in choosing where to sit. He eventually settled on a two-person booth near the back; it would give them some privacy, but also, it was close to the kitchen. He motioned for Shiro to sit down before hesitating.

“Do you want me to take your order?” Seeing Shiro’s confused face, Lance rushed to clarify, “I mean, it would be kinda weird sitting here with no food or at least, like, a drink or something. I can get an order put in, clock out, and then join you.”

“Oh, uh, sure. That’s fine.” 

“What’ll it be, then?” He asked, breaking out his signature customer service smile.

Shiro seemed to mull it over for a few seconds before deciding, “Just a coffee and maybe some of those cakes in the display? Why don’t you just bring me your favorites. We can share.” 

Shiro gave him such a genuine smile, Lance had to remind himself to breathe.

“I- uh, alright. I’ll do that. Be right back, Shiro.”

Lance scurried into the kitchen, opening the fridge that held all the fresh desserts shown in the display. He couldn’t deny his heart was racing just a bit as he stared at the different sweets. He just couldn’t actually believe Shiro was _here_ , looking fine as hell, waiting for him so they could share cake together.

“As _friends_ , he’s here because we’re _friends_ ,” he whispered, shaking himself out his daze.

Friends totally did this, like, all the time. Like Hunk! Hunk came in during work sometimes, just to hang around until Lance got off. Or to mooch some free coffee from Allura in exchange for new recipe ideas. See? No need to freak out. Except for, you know, the fact that Shiro was incredibly attractive. He sighed to himself. Why did he keep making friends with hot people?

He looked back at the desserts and started pulling some out. Flan for himself, cheese danish… for himself. What kind of stuff would Shiro like? He didn’t have an incredibly sweet palette, maybe something with fresh fruit? He picked a fruit tart and also the green tea cake on impulse. Shiro liked green tea, right? He swore he’d seen it a couple times in his snapchats.

He loaded the desserts on a tray and poured a coffee on the way out. Only one for Shiro, no matter how badly Lance wanted one for himself. He’d already had his cafecito this morning and too much caffeine was bad for his skin. Oh well. Goodbye, caffeinated goodness. He pushed open the kitchen doors with his hips and slipped out with practiced ease. He placed down the coffee first with a crooked smile.

“You take your coffee black, right?” Shiro nodded to Lance’s relief. “Cool, I remembered. Alright, well I brought some caramel flan, which is bomb. Also, cheese danishes and this green tea cake, I thought you might like that.”

“Because I’m Japanese?” Shiro smiled wryly.

“Because it’s _good_.” Lance rolled his eyes. “And you like green tea, don’t lie. We get this matcha powder on Clement street, it’s awesome.”

Shiro hummed and reached over to take a bite. Lance drummed his fingers and waited in barely contained anticipation for his reaction. Shiro kept his face carefully blank as he chewed, lifting his coffee delicately before swallowing. But he couldn’t stop the small smile from forming as he sipped his coffee.

“It’s good.” He sighed and Lance whooped in triumph.

Lance took a bite of his own caramel flan as Shiro continued with the green tea. After a moment, Shiro broke the silence with a thoughtful hum, making Lance look up curiously.

“Clement street… that’s where that bookstore is, right?” He asked with a strange lilt to his voice. Lance chose to ignore it.

“Green Apple, yeah! You remembered. Clement is also home to some of the best dim sum and seafood selections.” He pointed out, stealing a piece of the green tea cake.

“Really now? I didn’t stop anywhere else. Just the bookshop.” Shiro mentioned casually and Lance almost dropped his fork.

“You went? How’d you like it?” 

“It was really nice. I liked it a lot. I need to go back when I have more time. It was a rushed trip.” Shiro smiled softly, almost shyly, and Lance couldn’t help but smile in response.

“Ah, too bad. It’s a shop you gotta take your time in. Anything catch your eye though?”

“Actually, yes.”

Lance perked up curiously as Shiro reached over for the bag at his feet. Oh, did he bring the books just to show Lance? The thought made him feel all warm and fuzzy. When Shiro pulled out the first book, his jaw dropped, the warmth in his gut intensifying. The stellar cartography books. The ones that must’ve been so expensive, they didn’t even have a price tag in the shop. Lance couldn’t stop himself from gawking if he tried.

“Dude, you actually bought those?” He let out a soft breath as Shiro handed the first volume to him.

“Yeah, for you,” Shiro replied with an easy smile, catching Lance off-guard.

“Wait, what?” He asked, dumbstruck.

Shiro’s smile faltered just slightly.

“I got them for you. Those… those were the ones in your snapchat, right?” He asked, an edge of doubt in his voice. 

“Yeah, they are, most definitely,” Lance scrambled to reassure him. “I’m just… _why_ would you get ‘em for _me_?”

Shiro drummed his fingers on the table, seeming equal parts nervous and deep in thought. He let out a soft huff and stared at the table when he answered.

“I liked space a lot, when I was younger. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. Didn’t quite work out. I think I liked seeing someone else as interested in it as I was.” He smiled, that soft smile again, and Lance felt his heart melt. But then that edge of doubt was back when Shiro continued, “It was an impulse buy, kind of, I didn’t really think it through. I can return them if you don’t… if you feel uncomfortable-”

“No, no it’s… this is really nice Shiro. I think I kinda get it. Thank you.”

Lance did his best to give a reassuring smile. Internally, he was still screaming in disbelief. But it must’ve been convincing enough because Shiro relaxed into his seat again. Lance gingerly ran his fingers over the leather cover of the book, smiling to himself.

“But in exchange, you’re gonna have to deal with midnight texts from me ranting about all the cool things in these books.” He looked up at Shiro teasingly and was pleased by the surprised expression on the man’s face.

“I’m looking forward to it.” His surprise morphed into something more sincere with those words, and Lance fought not to blush again.

Lance handed back the book so Shiro could tuck it back in his bag, where it’d be safe. They lapsed into a comfortable silence that turned into idle chit chat, about everything and nothing. Lance marveled again at how easy it was, talking to Shiro. It was something of a relief to Lance, to find out that in person they had the same chemistry as they did through text. It solidified their friendship in a new way; at least, that’s how Lance felt. 

It felt like no time had passed at all when Lance’s break came to an end. Even though Allura had said she’d excuse a bit of lateness, he really didn’t like going over his 30 minutes. He sighed and moved to sit up, ready to excuse himself. 

“Is your break over already?” Shiro smiled sadly.

“Yeah, I gotta head back. But feel free to stick around. I can bring you a menu if you want.” Lance offered, half hoping he’d stick around.

“It’s alright, I need to get going anyways.” Shiro stood up, grabbing his bag and letting Lance walk him to the front. He handed the bag of books over with a gentle smile, voice just a little too soft when he said, “It was nice seeing you.”

He couldn’t help but respond in a similar tone, “Nice seeing you, too.” 

Lance watched, a bit forlornly, as Shiro walked out the door with a small wave. He stood in the lobby for all of three seconds before finding a surge of courage and running out the door. Thankfully, Shiro hadn’t been in too much of a rush, since Lance was able to catch him right down the sidewalk.

“Hey, Shiro!” He called out, jogging to catch up as the man stopped, looking back curiously. Lance swallowed his nerves and just went for it. “So, like, I know you’re busy being a millionaire or whatever but like… if you’re ever free, we should hang out again?”

Shiro looked a bit shocked by the proposal and Lance was ready to take back his words. It was stupid of him to assume Shiro had time to spare like that. But then he caught sight of the faint dusting of pink on Shiro’s cheeks and his signature soft smile and Lance forgot why he even doubted himself.

“That would be nice, Lance. Really nice.” He sounded so _earnest_.

Lance shuffled his feet, feeling his face heat up. 

“Cool, cool. Yeah, uh, I’ll text you. Later. Bye.” He waved as casually as he could, backing away slowly to preserve what was left of his cool.

“Bye Lance.” Shiro waved back with the brightest smile yet.

Lance’s heart skipped a beat. Once Shiro turned and left, Lance raced back to the cafe, clutching his heart dramatically. Except he totally wasn’t being dramatic, he was seriously at risk of cardiac arrest right now. He didn’t know Shiro could _smile_ like that, it just wasn’t fair. Heavy in his other hand was the bag of books, _expensive_ books, that Shiro had bought for _him_. This was so surreal, there was no way he’d gotten this lucky. Shiro was literally an angel on earth.

He was so caught up in his swirling thoughts that he didn’t notice Allura creep up behind him.

“So, when’s the wedding?” She breathed right in his ear.

“Allura!” He jumped in surprise, clutching his heart even harder. Then he registered her words and flushed crimson all over again. “It’s not like that. He’s just a friend.”

Allura stared at him long and hard. Lance felt himself start to sweat under that icy blue gaze. When she apparently found what she was looking for, she backed off, huffing a bit through her nose before smiling sweetly.

“Alright.”

She totally didn’t believe him.

“No, really, Allura-” He started after her frantically.

“Get back to work, Lance. Afternoon rush is about to start.” She sing songed, strutting away in her fancy heels.

“Allura!”

\---

Shiro twirled his pen restlessly, eyes darting towards the clock for the upteenth time that hour. He was distracted, and noticeably so, if the look on his secretary’s face was any indication. He put down his pen and sighed, shooting his secretary a tight smile before ducking behind his computer screen. He stared blankly at his emails, then some spreadsheets, then back to emails. It was no use, he just couldn’t seem to concentrate.

Lance had texted him earlier that morning, gushing about winning some research award for his dissertation proposal. Shiro honestly had no business feeling as proud as he did, but he still suggested they should go out and celebrate tonight. Well, it was more like he _insisted_ they go and celebrate. Lance had readily agreed before bidding farewell, shutting his phone off for his morning classes.

The rest of the day had gone smoothly enough, save for the past hour or so. Now, Shiro’s mind was occupied with thinking of exactly _where_ he’d take Lance to celebrate. He couldn’t text the other man, he was still at work and would have his phone shut off. His first instinct had, of course, been to make a reservation at a nice restaurant. But he hesitated to do so, reflecting on the past months of their growing friendship.

When Shiro had decided to take the risk and deliver those books all those weeks ago, he hadn’t known what would come of it. He hadn’t known how much he’d end up enjoying Lance’s company; he hadn’t known he’d be so well received by the other man. He certainly hadn’t known that his actions would have signaled a turning point in their blossoming friendship. He’d known none of that, and yet, he regretted none of it either.

Always true to his word, Lance had texted him to meet up again. That one meeting turned into two, which turned into a new routine of frequent meetings. It started off small: Shiro dropping by Lance’s cafe for a coffee, or meeting up on their days off to grab some food and walk around. Over the course of just a few weeks, Lance had come to occupy a significant portion of Shiro’s schedule. He couldn’t say he was mad about that, either.

At every given opportunity, Shiro tried to take Lance out, tried to treat him. Shiro didn’t know very many places in the city, save for restaurants he’d attend with business partners, so inevitably that’s where they ended up. The places he usually dined at were definitely more upscale than Lance was used to. Shiro could tell by the way Lance shied away from the invitations at first, how he made excuses about not having anything nice to wear (which was easily solved when Shiro took him shopping, once and for all). 

He’d tried assuring him that it was only fair. When Lance planned their outings, he always took Shiro to different, _amazing_ places. Shiro couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun. The least he could offer in return was fancy food and the occasional gift. _Occasional_ , since he didn’t want to scare Lance off again. Shiro would’ve gifted him the world by now if he’d been allowed to. It was a thought he tried not to entertain too often.

He’d thought it would’ve made things easier once Shiro introduced Keith and Lance. It should have been proof that, yes, Shiro _did_ actually just like spending money on his friends. Keith literally lived in his penthouse apartment with him, never worried about bills, and didn’t hesitate in taking any gifts Shiro threw his way. But said ‘proof’ did nothing more than highlight how different Shiro seemed to treat Lance. Or, as Keith liked to call it, how Shiro seemed to ‘bend over backwards to make sure Lance was always taken care of and happy.’

He didn’t _mean_ to dote so much, but it just sort of _happened_. He wasn’t even like this with Keith most of the time, and Keith was his best friend. But the point still stood, Lance still felt uncomfortable when Shiro doted on him. Well, that wasn’t particularly true. Lance didn’t seem to mind Shiro’s excessive nature anymore, he just sort of accepted things; this was especially true with accepting Shiro’s financial assistance, so he tried to lean more towards those type of gifts. However, even as their outings grew more frequent, Lance still remained particularly uncomfortable with being taken out to fine dining locations.

So, since restaurant reservations were out of the question, Shiro was at a loss for ideas. It’s not that he wasn’t creative, but it was that he still just didn’t know many places. If they were back in Japan, Shiro could’ve thought of dozens of things to do. He was still pretty out of his element in San Francisco. If he were a humbler man, he probably would’ve given in and just told Lance to play tour guide again, since he didn’t know where to go. But Shiro had just a bit of pride left. With a newfound determination, he opened a new tab on his computer and started brainstorming.

Google was free after all.

 

 

At 6pm sharp, Shiro pulled up to the curb in front of Lance’s apartment building, spotting him immediately. He was waiting in front of the laundromat, dressed casually in some jeans and a knit sweater. Shiro smiled upon realizing that the sweater was one he’d purchased for Lance not too long ago; the off-white contrasted beautifully with his skin tone, just like Shiro imagined it would. He honked his horn quickly, just enough to grab Lance’s attention, and the man looked up with a bright smile. He practically skipped over to the car, hopping in with a bright ‘hello’, his upbeat energy immediately bringing a smile to Shiro’s face.

He had the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss him in greeting. Instead, he just revved the engine and sped off. That was weird. Lance didn’t seem to notice anything off, looking perfectly content in the passenger seat.

“So, where are you taking me this time? I was a little surprised when you said I didn’t have to dress up.” Lance asked after getting settled in his seat.

“Ah, yeah, I thought it best not to book another restaurant. You don’t always seem to really enjoy yourself when we go to them.” Shiro commented with a shy smile, keeping his eyes on the road.

There was a long beat of silence following that statement, and Shiro regretted bringing it up. But the moment was broken by a thoughtful hum, the usual sign that meant Lance was considering how best to answer something. 

“Don’t get me wrong, Shiro, it’s super rad to go those nice places, and the food is always amazing, but it’s just… how do I phrase this? 

“I’ve always dreamed of living the high life and checking out amazing restaurants, but reality is different than fantasy. Those places are all just so stuffy, y’know? Like, really uptight, more than I’d thought they’d be. I’m Cuban which means I’m loud by default, and like, to tone myself down in those places takes a lot of effort sometimes…” 

He trailed off and when Shiro glanced over, there was a pout on his face, his hands nervously picking at the hem of his sweater. Shiro smiled softly and reached over to quickly tap Lance’s knee, grabbing his attention.

“Lance, it’s okay. You don’t need to justify yourself, although it is nice to know why you’re uncomfortable. You’ll have to forgive me, since I don’t really know much of this city outside of restaurants and bars.”

Shiro’s smiled turned apologetic, and even though he couldn’t see him, he felt Lance relax into his seat again.

“We don’t always gotta traipse around town to have fun,” Lance started softly. “That time me and Hunk came over and tried showing you how to cook? That was _loads_ of fun. Your penthouse is like an amusement park, just coming over is fun enough for me.”

Shiro glanced over with wide eyes, clearly surprised.

“Oh, I… didn’t know that. I’ll invite you over more often. It was nice to have other company in the suite for once. Keith seemed to enjoy himself too.”

Lance just hummed at that, looking a little lost in thought. Shiro frowned but looked back at the road once the light turned green. He cleared his throat after a while, moving to a new topic of conversation.

“So, I know you like the ocean, so I just used google to find some place we could go. Do you like Pier 39? I’ve never been there, but the pictures made it look fun. I mean, we don’t have to go there if you have another suggestion-”

“Shiro, chill. I like Pier 39, there’s some good food there. Fun shops too. Oh! We can even get a good spot to watch the sunset!”

Lance began to babble about the fun times he had at the pier, back to his usual cheerfulness. Shiro grinned to himself. Good.

 

Pier 39 was decidedly more crowded than Shiro imagined, but Lance seemed unperturbed, leading him to believe this was normal. Shiro wasn’t the biggest fan of crowded places, but he didn’t mind them. In fact, he could even learn to like them, if it meant Lance having to constantly grab onto him, lest they get separated in the sea of people. Lance’s hands were incredibly soft, gentle where they wrapped around his wrist as he was dragged from one shop to another. It sent warmth rushing through him every time, intensified with every bright smile and tinkling laugh.

In his usual fashion, Shiro kept subtly offering to buy every odd trinket Lance showed him. In usual Lance fashion, he just laughed it off and kept moving. But Shiro still paid close attention to everything Lance showed him, taking mental notes in case he wanted to buy him something _later_. 

They made their way into a shop specializing in gourmet hot sauce, and that’s where everything went downhill. As it turned out, neither of them had palettes that could handle anything above “mild” and taste testing the hotter sauces was a huge mistake. But the employee helping them just seemed so enthusiastic about all the sauces, Shiro couldn’t help but indulge her a bit. However, he knew to call it quits when she gave him a sample of one of their hottest concoctions. Shiro took the sample and almost choked. 

Lance laughed his ass off, but still rubbed his back in a soothing manner while the employee got him a cup of water. Once he got his breath back, he wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled.

“Can I get two of those bottles please?” The employee beamed and went to grab a couple bottles. At Lance’s curious look, he elaborated, “Keith loves spicy food. If that almost killed me, then he’s going to love it.”

Before Lance could reply, the employee came back and Shiro went to the register to pay. They left the shop and while Shiro was in a good mood, he could tell immediately that Lance wasn’t. Well, not exactly. Lance didn’t seem to be in a sour mood, it was more like Shiro could tell there was something weighing on his mind. He decided not to push it for now, silently walking by his side. 

There was a cool breeze prickling at his skin, the temperature dropping further as the sun began to dip into the horizon. Lance walked them over to the end of the pier, leaning against the wood railing to watch the sunset. Shiro followed suit, eyes darting between the ocean and Lance’s profile, still unsure whether to ask what was on his friend’s mind. 

Finally, Lance seemed to notice his fretting and turned to him with a strained smile. Shiro raised a brow at that and Lance let it drop with a sigh, turning back to face the sea. Was… was he _sulking_?

“So, be honest with me here. What’s the deal with you and Keith?”

The question caught Shiro off guard, in more ways than one. It wasn’t just the question, but the tone of Lance’s voice, his posture; Lance was an incredibly expressive person and wasn’t hard to read if you paid attention. And Shiro, for better or worse, paid a lot of attention. That’s how he knew it was best to be honest, but also proceed with caution.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking? Keith is my best friend.” 

He answered as simply as possible, watching Lance’s profile for a reaction. The man’s lips tugged down into a brief frown, brows furrowed, eyes still watching the horizon even though Shiro _knew_ he could feel his gaze on him.

“Are you two, like, together? You can tell me if you are, I’m not a homophobe. Actually I’m bi, so yeah. Are you? Together, that is. I’m not asking if you’re gay, but you can tell me if you are.”

Shiro stood there in stunned silence, mind spinning. That was a lot of information to process. Once he’d digested it, though, he couldn’t help the incredulous reaction it pulled out of him.

“What? Me, with Keith?” Shiro’s mouth twisted and he snorted when he laughed, something that rarely happened. “No way. I can’t even imagine- nope, no thanks. And I'm bi too, nothing to do with sexuality. Just... Keith? No.”

Lance finally looked at him, confusion clear in his eyes. Shiro just raised his brows.

“Why? You seem close enough.” Lance reasoned, looking away again before mumbling under his breath, “You treat him like a boyfriend enough.”

“Keith is special.” Shiro answered softly, a fond smile on his face. “But he’s more like family to me than anything else.” 

Lance looked back up at him, doubt evident in his eyes. Shiro was still confused as to why they were having this conversation, but it was suddenly very important that Lance understood. Understood that, not only were he and Keith just friends, but that friendship in general was _special_ , and in turn, that _Lance_ was incredibly special to Shiro. He spent a quick moment deciding how best to start the conversation, then tapped Lance’s wrist to get his attention. Once those dark blue eyes were back on him, he smiled and spoke.

“Lance, you might’ve noticed, but I don’t really have a lot of friends. Have you ever wondered why?”

Lance wrinkled his nose a bit and shrugged. “I assumed it was because you’re busy, and probably a lot of them still live in Japan.”

“Even in Japan I had no real friends. Acquaintances, sure. But no one I could do this with, no one I could hang out with, or goof off with.” 

Shiro shrugged, smile turning soft at Lance’s concerned expression.

“I met Keith a few years ago in university, back in Japan. He was an exchange student there for the summer and he was the first person to really _talk_ to me.”

Lance perked up a bit at that, brows raised in surprise.

“Oh wow, am I unlocking your origin story? Have I leveled up as a friend already?” A bit of that signature sparkle had returned to Lance’s eyes, and Shiro considered it a mini victory.

“I guess so. Depends if you want to hear it or not,” Shiro teased.

“Hell yeah, lay it on me.”

Shiro chuckled at Lance’s renewed enthusiasm. He pursed his lips in thought, contemplating how to best explain things. Lance patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts, fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater absently, body turned to face him. Shiro moved to match his body language and began his short story.

“My family name is prestigious, in Japan. Everyone who’s anyone knows that. So, life was kind of lonely growing up. Kids my age either avoided me because of my status, or they only talked to me because they thought they could get something out of me. 

“University was the _worst_ in that regard. I spent most of my undergrad years keeping to myself, never socializing beyond what was required of me. But, one summer, in came this weird American exchange student and the first thing he did was yell at me for spilling coffee on his books.”

“Great first impression.” Lance deadpanned, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.

“It was.” Shiro laughed, smiling fondly at the memory. “He didn’t know my name or my family, he just treated me like a person. Even after learning who I was, he never cared. He got me into more trouble than I’d like to admit, but it was nice. It was nice being someone’s equal.” 

His expression sobered somewhat, though the shadow of a smile remained when he looked at Lance. His next words were soft, but serious.

“I’m not better than anyone. I just live in different circumstances.”

“I’ve never heard it put that way.” Lance mumbled thoughtfully.

“So, yes, Keith is just my friend. But friendship in itself is… incredibly special to me. So, in turn, you’ve also become incredibly special to me. You’re my first real friend since Keith.” 

Shiro flushed a little bit, stumbling over the words. But what mattered was that they were sincere, and he hoped Lance knew that. Judging by the blush that rose to Lance’s cheeks, he’d seemed to get his point across. They both looked away from each other, focusing on the setting sun once more, falling into a comfortable silence. It didn’t last long, however, broken by Lance’s thoughtful hum, and Shiro glanced his way curiously.

“I can kinda relate, about having a special friend and all. Hunk, he was totally a lifeline for me. He still is. I don’t think I would’ve survived long in this city if I hadn’t met him freshman year.”

Shiro smiled, realizing Lance was trying to reciprocate by giving a glimpse into his own life.

“You two seem close.” He nodded, encouraging the other man to continue.

“Yeah, he’s my best friend. He’s put up with a lot, living with me. It’s not an easy thing y’know. I can totally be a handful.” Lance beamed up at him and Shiro chuckled.

“I don’t think you are. Not at all.” He countered honestly.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence. But you don’t live with me.” Lance teased.

The _‘but I’d like to’_ that crossed his mind caught him off guard, Shiro stiffening for a split second as he processed that thought. But then Lance was speaking again, so he shoved the bubbling emotions away for later.

“I personally like to think I’ve gotten better over the years. Matured and whatnot. But Hunk stuck with me through it all. He’s my ride or die.” Lance looked up at him with a sly smile, eyes glittering.

“Ride or die?” Shiro repeated, testing the words on his tongue. He’d never heard that phrase before. His confusion must’ve been evident because Lance blushed, scrambling to try and explain it to him.

“It’s an expression. It kinda means… someone who’s willing to go to extreme lengths for you? I don’t know how to describe it really.” Lance shook his head with a bashful smile.

“Huh, interesting. Can I be your ride or die?” Shiro asked, a tad playful, but mostly serious.

He absolutely didn’t expect for Lance to burst into laughter, his body shaking with it. Shiro’s eyes widened, self-conscious about his statement, even as Lance’s laughter brought a warmth to his chest.

“What? What did I say?” He pleaded, fighting back his own chuckle.

Lance wheezed. “Nothing, no, don’t worry about it.”

Shiro chuckled as another wave of infectious laughter hit Lance. He’d have to google the origin of this ‘ride or die’ phrase later. For now, he was a bit caught up in the pleasant sound of Lance, as his laughter died down into tinkling giggles. Lance was always handsome, but suddenly Shiro was struck by how _pretty_ he was right now, smile wide and skin warm in the light of the setting sun. He was practically glowing, and Shiro gravitated closer to him like a moth to a flame.

He didn’t even realize it, didn’t notice how close he’d leaned into Lance until something crashed into their legs, shattering the moment. Shiro jerked back, heart and mind racing. Looking down, he noticed absently that a child had tripped into them. Lance ducked down to check on them, speaking in a soothing tone that barely registered past the ringing in Shiro’s ears. 

Had he really been about to _kiss him_? Had Lance not noticed? Why had he _done_ that?

The answer to the last question, at least, was answered as he watched Lance lift the child and return them to their parents, all charming smiles and bright eyes. There was no denying this time what the rush of fondness meant, no ignoring the surge of affection he felt when Lance returned to his side with a smile. He did his best to return the smile, trying desperately to focus in on what Lance was saying, but was overwhelmed by a single resounding thought.

_Well, shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :----)
> 
> one more part left! the last chapter will be going up some time tomorrow afternoon/evening when i get home from work.
> 
> thanks for all the comments and encouragement, i love hearing what y'all think~


	3. Chapter 3

“Oh, shit.”

The words left him in a rushed breath, forced from his lungs as he slammed the door shut behind him.

“Nice to see you too, buddy.” Hunk answered back sarcastically, not even glancing up from the frying pan he was flipping.

Lance trudged over to the small kitchen counter, all but collapsing into one of the bar stools. His mind felt like it was going a mile a minute, frantically replaying every moment of his outing with Shiro. He replayed every soft smile, every fleeting touch, every moment he locked gazes with those deep, grey eyes. He must’ve been quiet for too long because suddenly Hunk shut off the stove, turning to him with a concerned expression. Looking into the warm eyes of his best friend, he finally found his voice.

“I think I’m in love with Shiro.”

The confession was rushed, almost involuntary. Hunk’s eyes widened and Lance stopped breathing. The silence between them was deafening. Then Lance’s brain seemed to reboot and he looked away, face flushed, and scrambled to explain himself.

“Well, love is a strong word. I’m not _in love_ with him. But definitely infatuated. Like, supremely so. And attracted, but I mean, who _isn’t_ attracted to Shiro, like damn, you’ve seen him. But, okay yes, I most definitely think I have… some feelings for him. Hunk, speak to me buddy.” 

Lance looked at his friend pleadingly, borderline desperate. Hunk sighed, lips curling into a wry smile.

“Well, it took you long enough.”

Lance gawked at him, replying flatly, “What?”

Hunk snorted incredulously. “Dude, you’ve totally been lowkey pining after him for weeks now.” 

“No I haven’t!” Lance exclaimed, face heating up again.

“Alright, whatever helps you sleep at night.” Hunk replied in a sing-song tone, going back to whatever he’d left half cooked on the stove.

There was no way that was going to help him sleep at night. He was most definitely going to _lose_ sleep over this. Having a crush on Shiro was one thing, but having been obvious about it? That was a whole other story. God, had Shiro noticed? Did Shiro think he was coming onto him earlier today? What if Shiro thought Lance had been so defensive about Keith because he was jealous? Wait, was he legit _jealous?_ His head was spinning with the possibilities.

Hunk must’ve sensed his sudden panic because suddenly he was back at the counter, lightly shaking Lance’s arm to get his attention.

“Hey, dude, I’m just teasing. You haven’t, like, been obvious or anything. But I’m your best friend for a reason. I know the signs to look for.”

Hunk’s tone was casual, but his eyes were wide and pleading. Lance took a steadying breath and patted Hunk’s hand, smiling on the exhale.

“Of course, yeah, sorry for freaking out. This just all, uh, kinda caught me off guard.”

Hunk hummed thoughtfully, filling the silence between them. 

“It’s been awhile, huh?” Hunk’s voice was soft and understanding and Lance repeatedly chanted to himself _‘you’re not going to cry, not again.’_

“Yeah, not since, y’know.” Lance shrugged.

He knew. Hunk had been there to witness the rise and fall of probably the most disastrous relationship Lance had ever been in. It had been a while since then, maybe going on two years now, and in that time even the _thought_ of being in a new relationship sent Lance reeling. It got better over time, especially in recent months. But he’d never… he hadn’t considered getting into a relationship… 

“And how do you feel now?” Hunk asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“About Shiro?” Lance paused, gnawing his lip. “I don’t know Hunk. Like we’ve gotten really close as friends and he’s awesome to be around. Talking to him is sometimes the highlight of my day. And then there’s the whole, y’know, pseudo-sugar daddy thing. Not that I’m complaining, that part is kinda starting to be pretty cool now that I know him better.”

“But?” Hunk prodded, sensing there was more to the statement.

“But… nothing’s gonna happen between us. I’m not gonna ruin a perfectly good friendship just because I caught feelings, y’know?” He glanced up at his friend, giving him a lopsided smile.

Hunk blinked a few times before answering in a strained tone, “You… don’t think there’s a chance he might feel the same way?”

Lance stared at his friend for a long beat before laughing out loud. 

“Seriously? No way.” Lance replied once his laugh had dissolved into light giggles.

Hunk’s eyes took on that certain edge, the kind that meant ‘you’re my friend and I love you but I think you’re being an idiot.’ Lance met his gaze with a raised brow. Hunk sighed and backed up, raising his hands in mock surrender.

“I don’t know Lance, I think you’re selling yourself short. Again.”

Lance rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help thinking on their recent interactions. Couldn’t help but recall the soft way Shiro looked at him sometimes, the kind smiles, the late night phone calls when neither of them could sleep. It bordered on strangely intimate but Lance didn’t… Lance _couldn’t_ get his hopes up like that. It would hurt too much.

“Even if he did… even if the feelings are mutual… I don’t want to risk anything.” Lance murmured, picking at the sleeve of his sweater.

“Lance…” 

Lance shook his head, interrupting before Hunk could finish his thought.

“Sorry Hunk, but that’s that. I’m just… not going to do anything about it. If he makes a move, then that’s another story. But I can’t… I couldn’t stand being responsible for ruining this friendship.”

Another silence fell between them, this one noticeably tenser than before. Lance refused to look up from the counter, refused to witness whatever face Hunk was making at him. He wouldn’t budge on this issue, and hopefully Hunk would accept that. As caring and kind as his friend was, he could also be pushy, and Lance definitely wasn’t in the mood to hear his nagging right now.

“Alright.” Hunk finally replied. His tone was doubtful, but at least he’d seemed to concede to Lance’s point. “But, trust yourself a bit more. If you’re adamant on waiting for a sign from Shiro, then trust your gut when you feel the moment is right. Don’t let it fly by you just because you’re too stubborn to see it.”

“Yeah, alright. I’ll try. Thanks bro.” Lance deflated a bit, just happy to have the conversation be done with.

“Anytime bro. Now, you want some of this stir fry or what?” Hunk changed the topic, lifting the pan from the stove with a flair. Lance’s mouth was already watering. 

“Hell yeah. Who needs a boyfriend when I got a Hunk of Love instead?”

It was a miracle he’d been able to dodge the spatula thrown his way.

\---

“Shiro, will you just sit down and tell me what’s wrong already? Your pacing is driving me crazy.”

Shiro paused midstep, shooting a dirty look back at Keith. It was his damn home, he could pace as much as he pleased! But then he caught sight of the worry in his friend’s eyes and deflated a bit. He still hesitated before giving in and joining Keith on the couch; he wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to talk about this yet. But maybe he needed to.

Keith sat there silently, watching him go through his internal struggles. Keith wasn’t renowned as a patient person, but he knew when to push and when to back off. He waited until Shiro took a calming breath and nodded before speaking.

“So, is it safe to assume this has something to do with Lance?” Keith asked, tone casual, if a bit exasperated.

Shiro immediately felt his defenses go up. Was he that obvious?

“What? Why- how did-”

Keith rolled his eyes and sighed. “You literally just came back from hanging out with him. And then immediately started pacing around the living room. So yeah, I managed to figure out maybe those things were correlated.”

“Oh.” Shiro mumbled; he supposed that made sense.

“So? What did he do?” Keith prodded.

Shiro sighed, sinking into the couch with a pout. “Nothing, he didn’t do anything Keith.”

“Then what’s the-”

“I like him, Keith. Okay?” Shiro interrupted, face flushing. “I like him… a lot more than friends like each other.”

There was a stretch of silence between them, broken by Keith’s scoff.

“Wow. Did you just figure that out?” He drawled teasingly.

“Excuse me?” Shiro raised a brow in warning. Keith, of course, ignored it.

“You can’t honestly be that dense.”

Keith pinned him with a hard stare. Shiro met his eyes stubbornly, refusing to cave so easily. But Keith was unrelenting in a way Shiro had never managed to beat, not in all their years of friendship. He looked away and cleared his throat, folding his hands in his lap.

“I admit, I might have been… suppressing some of my feelings as of late.”

Keith snorted. “Dude, you’ve been straight up lying to yourself since day one.”

“No need to be rude. I was just… hoping to be his friend.” Shiro shrugged, just a bit self-conscious.

“And now? What’re you hoping for now?” Keith’s tone had softened considerably, it almost made Shiro smile.

It was a valid question: what was Shiro hoping for? Before now, he’d never really entertained the idea that Lance would be interested in him. But after today, he thought maybe he might just have a chance. Even if he did have a chance, was Shiro willing to risk their friendship to take it? Then again, could he live with knowing they might’ve had a chance, yet he was too _afraid_ to take it? He let out a shaky breath and looked back at Keith.

“I’m not sure, but I think I’d like to be more than friends…” 

He spoke slowly, quietly, but resolutely. Keith rolled his eyes again, but his smile was soft. Shiro found it in him to smile back, if a bit shakily. They settled into a comfortable silence, Keith tapping away on his phone while Shiro reflected on his life decisions. As if reading his mind, Keith suddenly spoke up again, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

“So? You got a plan?” 

“A plan?” Shiro repeated, momentarily confused. Oh, a plan on how to confess… yeah, he should probably be thinking of that. He cleared his throat and looked away, cheeks burning. “Of course. I need a plan. I need to do this right.”

“I mean, you could just… get him flowers or something. He seems like the type to like flowers.” Keith mumbled the last bit, losing confidence in his suggestion.

Shiro appreciated the attempt at advice, but if there was one thing Keith wasn’t good at, it was romance. “No Keith, that’s not good enough. It needs to be special.”

Keith choked down a laugh, looking incredulous. “Whatever you say, Prince Charming.” 

He may have said it sarcastically, but the remark gave Shiro the beginning of an idea. His eyes widened and he sat up straight, a plan taking shape in his head. He turned to his friend with bright eyes and a brighter smile.

“Keith, you’re a genius!” He exclaimed, pulling him into a giddy embrace.

Keith spluttered, wrestling out of Shiro’s iron grip. “What the- like yeah, I am. But what did I do?”

“Disneyland! I can take him to Disneyland!” He shouted, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Uh, okay… that’s a little much…” Keith blinked rapidly, disbelief coloring his tone.

Shiro ignored him, too caught up in his grandiose ideas.

“It’s perfect. His birthday is in a couple of weeks. I’ll take him for his birthday and then confess at the end of the trip, under the fireworks of the parade.”

“What the fuck Shiro.” Keith whispered in the following silence.

“Is that weird?” _Now_ he was feeling the trickling of self-doubt.

“Weird, no. Extremely over the top? Yes.” Keith must’ve noticed his growing anxiety, because he quickly rectified, “But, Lance seems like an over-the-top kind of guy… so maybe it’s appropriate.”

Shiro smiled gratefully, sinking back into the couch. Alright, maybe it was a bit over the top, but where was the fun in doing something _normal?_ Shiro could afford to indulge every once in awhile, and Lance was someone he enjoyed indulging. Keith snickered at something on his phone and Shiro sent him a questioning look. He cleared his throat and sat up a little bit, typing something out before speaking up again.

“Also, don’t worry, I’ll make sure Hunk is occupied.” He commented, giving Shiro a thumbs up.

Oh, Shiro hadn’t even thought about that. Hunk was Lance’s best friend, he might’ve had something planned for Lance’s birthday already. That was very considerate of Keith to offer to talk to Hunk. But that brought up another topic of confusion… 

“You talk to Hunk?” Shiro asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

Keith paused in his texting, and Shiro wasn’t convinced he _wasn’t_ texting Hunk at that moment. 

“Yes.” He paused, and Shiro raised a brow. 

“We exchanged numbers when he came over with Lance that one time.” He explained. 

Still, silence from Shiro. Keith’s cheeks started going red.

“Anyways, this isn’t about me. I’ll handle Hunk, you just… go make googley eyes with Lance at Disneyland or something.” He grumbled, sinking further into the couch, lifting his phone to his face.

“Alright. Thanks Keith.” Shiro chuckled, choosing not to tease his friend too much, not when he was doing him so many favors already. He was happy Keith was making new friends.

“Yeah, whatever.”

Shiro shook his head and pulled out his own phone, starting to look up some details for the trip. Planning it shouldn’t be too hard. The hard part would be figuring out how exactly he was going to ask Lance...

\---

“You want to do _what?_ ”

Static was the only sound that greeted him over the receiver, where the phone was clutched to his ear. Lance’s heart felt like it was caught in his throat. There was _no way_ he’d heard Shiro correctly, there was just no way he would be that lucky. He perked up at the sound of a heavy exhale, waiting for Shiro to clarify himself.

“I… want to take you to Disneyland. For your birthday. Is that alright? I don’t know if you already had plans…”

Alright, so, he apparently _had_ heard Shiro correctly the first time. It was just easier to believe he’d misunderstood than to consider what Shiro was legit offering him. He didn’t even hesitate, didn’t even pause to consider if any birthday plans existed before answering.

“Holy heck, Shiro, in the face of Disneyland all other plans are obsolete.” He gushed, a giddy laugh leaving his throat.

“So, is that a yes?” Shiro asked and Lance could hear the smile in his voice.

“I mean, yes? But like… _why?_ That’s… that’s a lot to offer, even if I’m getting used to the whole ‘rich friend’ thing.”

“Well, I remember you mentioned liking it before. And I’ve never been to the Disneyland in America, only Tokyo. And, uh, there just happened to be some good deals when I checked?”

That last reason sounded kind of like bullshit, but Lance let it slide. He hummed in mock consideration, using the moment to calm himself. He didn’t want to sound _too_ excitable.

“Well, as far as I know, I didn’t have any birthday plans. So Disneyland honestly sounds like the best birthday gift I’ve had probably my whole life.” His giddy mood died down for a moment as a thought occurred to him. “Is it just us two, or…?”

“Oh, uh.” Shiro seemed to stutter a bit, but that could’ve just been the static. “I’d intended it to be just us, but if you want to invite others, we can work it out.”

“No!” Lance exclaimed, maybe a bit too quickly. He cleared his throat and continued more calmly, “Nope, that’s chill. Just us two, that sounds… great.”

“Great.” Shiro breathed into the receiver.

“Yep. Okay, well, I gotta go now Shiro. Extra shift at work. Text me later.” 

Lance rushed out his goodbye before promptly hanging up. He sat on the couch in silence, staring at his phone for what felt like hours, before Hunk shifted next to him. He looked up and caught his friend sending him a curious look.

“You don’t have an extra shift today,” Hunk said slowly, narrowing his eyes.

“I don’t. But I needed to hang up or else I might’ve combusted,” Lance answered honestly.

They both relaxed into the couch, turning their attention back to whatever was playing on Netflix. Lance couldn’t find it in himself to pay attention, not when his mind was currently a mushed mess of _Disneyland_ and _Shiro_. That was a deadly combination that he never imagined he’d have to deal with. Hunk glanced over at him and smiled knowingly. Lance narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“By the way,” Hunk spoke up, “no, I didn’t have any solid plans for your birthday. Thanks for asking.”

Lance curled in on himself, bashful. “Sorry Hunk, I got a little too excited.”

“Well, it’s Disneyland. I can’t expect you to be rational when Disneyland is involved.”

Hunk chuckled and rolled his eyes, and Lance felt himself relax. He made himself comfortable once more, draping his legs over Hunk’s on their narrow couch. His phone buzzed with new email alerts and his previous excitement returned full force when he saw they were from Shiro. He opened them and bit down a smile, reading over the details of the trip Shiro had planned. He didn’t respond yet, since he was supposed to be at work; he didn’t make a habit of lying, but this one time it was necessary, since he couldn’t trust himself to respond sanely just yet. 

Wow, a whole weekend at Disneyland, with Shiro, just the two of them… alone. The possibilities had Lance’s heart racing for too many reasons. His birthday was only a week and a half away. He needed to start preparing, mentally and emotionally, physically and spiritually. Maybe he should try meditating again. It had been a while since he attended a meditation class. He poked Hunk’s leg with one of his toes.

“Hey Hunk, think I can tag along to your mindfulness meditation classes this week?”

Hunk smiled ruefully, as if he knew exactly why Lance was asking. In all likelihood, he probably did. But he let the topic slide with a nod.

“Sure dude. I’ve got an open session tomorrow at 5.”

“You’re the best friend ever.”

 

 

Lance fiddled with his phone as he waited on the sidewalk by his apartment building, keeping a lookout for Shiro’s car. Shiro had texted him twenty minutes ago saying he was on his way, so he really should arrive any minute now. He tugged on the strap of his duffle bag and relaxed against the side of the building. He refused to let his nerves get the best of him. He could be patient and chill and _calm._

When Shiro did finally pull up five minutes later, Lance’s jaw dropped. Instead of his usual black BMW, his friend drove up in a deep blue Mustang convertible. Shiro himself was almost unrecognizable, in an extremely casual get-up. Lance was used to seeing Shiro in suits or semi-casual business wear, with his hair smoothed back or nicely combed. He was completely unprepared for the Shiro in front of him, dressed down in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, his hair tousled from the wind.

How was he expected to survive eight hours in a car like this? Well, if he died, at least he’d die happy. Apparently, he’d been standing there gawking like an idiot for too long, because Shiro raised his sunglasses and gave him a curious look. And, okay, that was way too hot for Lance to handle. He quickly snapped up and looked away, occupying himself with throwing his bag in the back, before taking a deep breath and sliding into the passenger side.

“Where did this car come from?” Lance laughed as Shiro peeled into the road, driving a lot wilder than Lance was used to.

“You like it? It’s the car I specifically use for road trips.” Shiro explained with a wide smile, eyes thankfully glued to the road; that also meant he didn’t see the way Lance rolled his eyes.

“Of course you would have multiple cars for different occasions.” He drawled.

“Hey now, I only have three cars.” Shiro chuckled.

“Oh, _only_ three?” 

“That’s besides the point.”

“Oh, and what _is_ the point?” Lance teased.

“The point is…” Shiro turned and gave him a smile as they pulled up to a red light, “You get to control the radio for the trip.” 

“You’re gonna let me DJ? For the whole 8 hour drive?” Lance resisted the urge to let his jaw drop again.

“Of course. It’s your birthday weekend.” Shiro shrugged as if it was no big deal.

But oh, _oh_ this was a big deal. Poor Shiro didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Poor Shiro didn’t know that Lance was banned from controlling the music in at least five different vehicles. 

“Promise me right now, you can’t revoke my radio privilege. Not at all.” Lance begged earnestly, eyes wide.

“Okay?” Shiro gave him a quizzical glance. “I promise not to revoke your radio privileges, the entire drive to Disneyland, and the entire drive home from Disneyland.”

Lance couldn’t help the devious grin that spread across his face. He fished out his phone and plugged it into Shiro’s AUX cord. He pulled up his favorite playlists on Spotify and found the perfect one.

“Alright then, let’s get started.” He laughed and pressed play.

\---

Shiro might have regretted giving Lance free reign over the music choice for the whole trip. _Might_ have regretted it, because it was totally worth it to see Lance so happy. And the music wasn’t bad, per se. It was very upbeat and energetic and it definitely kept him awake for the drive. And if Shiro became intimately familiar with a rapper named Cupcakke, well, no one else would have to know.

Lance himself made the drive more bearable, a literal ball of energy for almost the entire eight hour drive. He danced and sang and yelled along to nearly every song, trying to drag Shiro into it as well. Thankfully, Shiro had the very legitimate excuse of needing to focus on driving instead of flexing his horrible dance skills. Lance wasn’t the greatest singer around, but he could carry a basic tune; that is, when he wasn’t just yelling at the top of his lungs. Having kept up such a high energy the whole trip, Lance looked just as exhausted as Shiro felt, half-asleep once they pulled up to their hotel. As he drove up to the valet, Lance seemed to perk up, taking in the sights around him.

“Woah, we’re staying at the Disneyland hotel? For real?” He asked with wide eyes.

“Um, yes? Where else would we stay?” Shiro asked, a bit confused.

“Right, stupid question. Sorry, I’m used to staying at the Motel 6 when I travel.” Lance said with a tired smile.

“Would you have rather stayed there?” Shiro asked teasingly.

“Absolutely not!” Lance exclaimed, voice cracking a bit.

Shiro chuckled and shook his head, making a mental note to google what a Motel 6 was later. He finished pulling up to the valet before hopping out and grabbing their bags from the back. Lance insisted on carrying his own bag, first fighting Shiro for it, and _then_ fighting the bellhop about it. Shiro just laughed and waved the bellhop away, but slipped them a tip; they’d each only brought a duffle bag, not worth getting help for, but he knew that’s how bellhops made their living. Shiro _did_ run a hotel, after all.

Shiro tugged Lance along into the lobby, smiling at the other man’s awed expression. The decor was nice enough, but a little lackluster in Shiro’s opinion. The hotels in Tokyo definitely had a different flair to them; or maybe he was just feeling homesick. Either way, he made a note to himself to take Lance there one day, considering should everything work out well during this trip.

He strolled up to the check-in counter and handed over his card and ID. He hadn’t booked anything lavish for this trip, just a basic junior suite since they only planned to stay two nights. The desk clerk typed away on their computer, humming a friendly tune, before making a sound of surprise.

“Oh, Mr. Shirogane, it seems you’ve been given a complimentary room upgrade. You’ve been upgraded from a junior to a full suite, no additional charge of course.” They explained with a bright smile.

“Awesome.” Lance murmured next to him, and Shiro couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you, that sounds wonderful.” He accepted the offer graciously.

They were given their room keys and Lance dashed off to the elevators, getting a resurgence of energy somehow. Shiro trailed behind with a fond smile, speeding up to catch the elevator Lance hopped into. They rode up to their floor, Lance buzzing with excitement even as he fought back a yawn.

Their room was at the end of a long hallway, a corner room Shiro noted. They’d probably been given a very nice view, in that case. Lance scanned them in and wasted no time flipping on every light, exploring their temporary living space. While Lance was in the bathroom gushing about the mickey mouse shaped shower faucets, Shiro was focused on a different matter. More specifically, he was focused on the single bed in the adjoining bedroom.

When he’d first booked a room, he had made sure it was equipped with two full-sized beds. That detail must’ve been lost in translation during the free upgrade. He sighed in resignation and picked up his bag, ready to head back out into the living room. Lance chose that moment to join him however, eye widening as he noticed the single bed as well. Shiro cleared his throat and put on a smile.

“I’m almost certain the couch unfolds into a sleeper, so you can have the bed,” he offered, turning on his heel to head back toward the living room.

He stopped short when Lance caught him by the arm, looking up at him with a twisted expression. It was something like a mix of embarrassment and indignation maybe, and it made Shiro freeze. The look dissolved somewhat when Lance smiled, but the emotions were still clear in his eyes. Realizing he had Shiro’s full attention, Lance let go and moved further into the bedroom.

“Come on now, you know that’s not fair and I won’t let you do that,” he sighed, motioning towards the king size bed. “There’s plenty of space here. We can share the bed.”

Shiro hesitated, contemplating whether he should try arguing. On one hand, he wasn’t sure his heart could handle being in such close proximity to Lance for an extended amount of time. Just thinking about it made butterflies flutter in his ribcage. On the other hand, he was a grown man and could definitely keep his emotions in check. Plus, Lance had that awful stubbornness about him, evident from the gleam in his eyes, to the tense set of his shoulders. Shiro took a deep breath through his nose and accepted his fate.

“If you’re really okay with it, then alright.” He stepped back into the room, dropping his bag on the opposite side of the bed.

Lance smiled again as his posture relaxed, reaching down to grab his own bag.

“Cool, mind if I use the bathroom first?” He asked, digging out a ziploc full of toiletries.

“Of course not, go ahead.” 

Shiro watched Lance scurry into the restroom, and only when he heard the door click shut did he let out short groan. Really, he was just being dramatic. The bed was definitely big enough, allowing almost a good three feet between them. As exhausted as he was, Shiro was sure he’d still have trouble sleeping; it’d been awhile since he last slept in such close proximity to another person.

Maybe he could sneak out and sleep on the couch once Lance was asleep…

His train of thought was interrupted when Lance strolled back into the room, decked out in his night gear. The green facial mask and hair wrap duo made Shiro snort and Lance shot him a dirty look.

“What? You think I’m naturally this good looking? It takes time and effort, okay Shiro,” Lance said crossly, marching to his side of the bed.

“I didn’t say anything.” Shiro laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

Lance just huffed and plopped down, digging through his bag again. Shiro got up and made his way to the bathroom, dragging himself through his own nightly routine. He almost skipped on taking a shower, he was so tired, but he couldn’t deny he felt pretty crusty after being trapped in a car for so long. He unhooked his prosthetic and hopped in for a quick rinse off.

Freshly showered and dressed down in his sleep wear, Shiro strolled back into the room and found Lance completely passed out. He was breathing softly, laying perfectly still on his back, an eye mask now on his face, and headphones plugged in. What an absolute diva. He felt that fond fluttering in his chest and sighed in defeat. He couldn’t stay away from Lance even if he tried. He oh so gently slid into bed, getting comfortable on his side, and slipped into a much needed deep sleep.

\---

Lance had expected that waking up the next morning would be a lot more awkward. He’d seen enough cheesy romantic comedies and read enough fanfiction to know about the infamous “bed sharing” trope. He had even expected that falling asleep would be awkward enough, but he’d underestimated just how tired he’d been; the minute his head hit the pillow, he was knocked out. Now, he was spared from an awkward wake-up due to the fact that Shiro, apparently, rose with the sun.

Lance dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom, washing off his face mask first and then moving onto washing the coconut oil from his hair. Refreshed and fully awake now, he wandered into the living room, hoping to find Shiro. And find him he did, fully dressed and awake, sipping a cup of coffee at the small table by the window. The scene brought about some serious domestic feels and Lance felt his heart skip a beat.

He was dressed in yet another pair of ripped jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt, and Lance couldn’t help the way his eyes drank in the view. The thirst was real. Suddenly, Shiro turned and spotted him, raising his brows in surprise before smiling. Lance did his best to smile back, embarrassed as hell at being caught staring. But Shiro apparently hadn’t noticed or just ignored it, giving him a chipper greeting.

“Morning. I’ll make you coffee while you get dressed. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Lance quickly agreed with a nod, not trusting his voice, and dashed back into the bedroom. He focused on calming his racing heart as he got dressed, distracting himself instead with planning how exactly they’d spend their first day at Disneyland. The distraction worked perfectly, Lance completely forgetting his embarrassment in the face of Disney adventures. 

He skipped back out into the living room, decked out in his favorite jean shorts and a pink scoop neck t-shirt. Lance practically chugged the cup of coffee Shiro handed him, fired up and ready to go. He ignored the amused look Shiro sent his way and slipped on his Disney-style sunglasses, tugging him along out the door. He knew exactly where he wanted to go first, and they needed to get there _right_ when the park opened, and not a minute later.

 

 

Since they were hotel guests, they were allowed to enter the park a whole hour early and beat the bulk of the morning crowds. When Lance was younger, he could only dream of what it was like to enter the park during “Magic Hour”; now, it seemed he was living out more than one of his dreams. Lance had raced Shiro to Space Mountain first, since that area tended to get the most crowded early on. After that, he tugged Shiro away to Splash Mountain, then challenged him to another race to beat the crowds at Matterhorn.

He spent much of the morning like that, challenging Shiro to keep up with him as he darted away to all his favorite attractions. If Shiro hadn’t known Lance was on the track & field team in college before, he certainly knew now. But Lance was appreciative of the fact that Shiro’s muscle wasn’t all for show; he was in good shape, able to keep up for most of the day even though he lagged behind in speed.

Even Lance had his limits, though, and he was forced to slow down after an hour or so. At that point, he pulled out his phone and opened the Disneyland app he’d downloaded the night before, waiting for Shiro to catch up. The app was pure magic, letting him see where every character would be for photo ops and whatnot. The last time he’d been at Disneyland, years and years ago, he’d taken a picture with almost 10 different characters. He was hellbent on breaking his previous record this time around.

“Alright Shiro, catch your breath and get ready to sprint again. Cinderella is gonna show up in 10 minutes and we gotta pounce before the crowds close in.”

They spent the next portion of their day glued to Lance’s app, scouring the entire park for characters. With every stop, Shiro’s fatigue became more and more apparent. Even Lance was starting to lose some of his enthusiasm. 

At some point, he airily suggested they take a break and grab some refreshments, still skipping forward, phone in hand. Lance waited for a reply, but none came except for a pitiful wheeze. Well, he supposed that was answer enough. With a chuckle, he slowed down and linked arms with Shiro, in an effort to tug him along; definitely not because he wanted an excuse to touch him, not at all.

Lance stopped by the nearest food place, an ice cream parlor, and Shiro nearly collapsed onto his seat. Lance rolled his eyes; and people called _him_ the drama queen? Lance clicked his tongue and moved to order, stopped by a firm grip on his wrist. He looked back, surprised, and Shiro loosened the hold on his wrist with a smile.

“I’ll go order, don’t worry. This entire trip is my treat.”

“Shiro,” Lance whined, “but you’re already paying for so much.”

Shiro stood up dragged Lance over, making him sit in the booth while he went to order. Lance pouted as he was left alone, and didn't stop pouting until Shiro returned with their super unhealthy lunch: burgers, fries, and milkshakes. They ate in a comfortable silence, taking the moment of peace to recharge. 

However, they never quite recovered their energy; even Lance couldn't summon his seemingly endless reserves of enthusiasm. Age really was catching up to him, wasn't it? He was closer to 30 than he was to 20 now, and wow was he _feeling_ it. They walked around at a more leisurely pace, stopping to snap pictures with any characters they managed to find; the rest of the time, Lance gravitated towards the gift shops, both trying to escape the sudden late afternoon heat and enamored by any and all Disney merchandise.

Of course, spending so much time in the shops meant Shiro was constantly on his heels, making sure he knew, for the _upteenth time that day_ , that Lance could get whatever he wanted since it was his birthday weekend. He let Shiro buy him a few small trinkets, knowing all too well that Shiro wouldn’t stop insisting in that innocently sweet way of his. It was while in the third shop of the day that something really caught Lance’s eye. He paused by a clothing display, a smirk tugging at his lips, and he felt Shiro look at him curiously.

“Oh, these are so cute.” Lance drawled, pointing at a pair of t-shirts.

“Matching shirts?” Shiro asked, moving forward a bit to read them.

They were, in fact, a pair of matching t-shirts, and Lance couldn’t stop smiling. Both had the classic Disney font, of course, and they came in a variety of colors. One of them read ‘I don’t do matching shirts’, featuring a disgruntled looking Mickey Mouse; the other read ‘I do!’ with a charming Minnie Mouse smiling. Lance turned to look at Shiro, who was still watching him curiously.

“Don’t you think these would be perfect for Hunk and Keith?” Lance winked, his smile growing wider as he browsed through the colors and sizes for each. 

“Uh, I guess. But why would they wear matching shirts?” Shiro’s bewildered tone had Lance finally looking back at him; he was the perfect picture of utter confusion.

Lance narrowed his eyes, wondering if Shiro would honestly be that oblivious about the way their friends had been dancing around each other lately. Then he realized that, apparently, Shiro was also oblivious of his massive crush on the man. So, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that Shiro simply hadn’t noticed _whatever_ it was Hunk and Keith had going on.

“Nevermind, I’ll explain later.” Lance waved his hand dismissively, turning back to the shirts. “But I definitely wanna get these for them.”

“Whatever you want.” Shiro shrugged, amusement coloring his voice again.

“No, I’ll get these, honestly!” Lance argued, rounding on Shiro with a look of determination. “Since it’s not for _me_ , it’s for someone else, it doesn’t count as a birthday gift!”

Shiro looked as if he was ready to argue and Lance braced himself; he wasn't going to give in that easily, not this time. But then something else seemed to cross his mind and he stepped back with a small nod. 

“That’s fair. I’m going to go look over there real quick, okay?” Shiro point somewhere over his shoulder, already backing away. 

Lance smiled, a bit confused by the sudden change in heart, but he let Shiro leave with a wave. He found the shirts in the right sizes and colors and bounced over to the register. These shirts were probably going to embarrass the hell out of his friends, but what was he good for, if not for embarrassing his friends? Hunk would thank him later. 

With the shirts paid for and tucked safely in his bag, Lance looked around for Shiro. Not finding him in the shop, he went to the entrance and glanced around outside. He was getting ready to pull out his phone and call the man when he spotted him exiting a different shop. He had a small bag in hand and startled a bit when Lance rushed over to him.

“What’s in the bag, Shirogane?” Lance eyed him with suspicion.

“Just souvenirs for my mom,” he replied with an easy smile.

“Oh, nice.” Lance smiled, perking up again.

They started heading back to the hotel in silent agreement, no longer able to fight the fatigue from their adventurous day. Lance filled the silence with stories of the few other times he’d been to Disneyland. Besides the time he’d come with Hunk a few years back, every other time had been with his family. The Disney experience was quite different when there were four other rambunctious children of varying ages involved. In hindsight, he felt bad for his parents; they must’ve run them _ragged_ , he couldn’t image how they’d found the energy to keep up with all their kids like that.

Even now, Lance struggled holding back a groan at the thought of _not_ immediately going to sleep once they got back to their room. But Shiro had insisted on grabbing dinner before it got too late and Lance had to agree that _real_ food sounded great. They avoided the more crowded dining areas in the hotel and settled on grabbing food and drinks at the Tiki Bar. The bar area was still pretty empty, just the occasional couple, and they were served quickly.

This time, it was Shiro’s turn to tell stories about Disneyland. He talked about how he loved going to the theme park back in Tokyo, partly because he loved Disney, but also because it meant he had a day filled with his mother’s attention. After downing his third sugary cocktail, Shiro wouldn’t stop talking about home. For the first time Lance was really struck by the fact that Shiro was _homesick_.

He also discovered that night that Shiro wasn’t so great at holding his liquor. After another drink, Shiro’s cheeks were flushed pink, and he’d stopped talking about sentimental memories. Instead, he started rambling about how he’d love to take Lance to Japan and show him everything. Then he could have his shot at playing interesting tour guide, just like Lance had done for him these past months.

Lance knew it was just the alcohol talking, but he couldn’t help but get a bit flustered by Shiro’s words. The promises he made to take him to so many places, the endless compliments about how great he thought Lance was: it was too much for him to handle at this moment. 

It was with great effort that he hauled Shiro back to their room. Having Shiro’s arm draped over him, bodies pressed together all along his side… Lance’s face was as flushed as Shiro’s by the time he wrestled the half-conscious man into their room. Lance dragged him into the bedroom and gently tossed him onto the bed. 

Shiro groaned and rolled over, promptly passing out. Lance let out a deep sigh, walking out into the living room to calm his racing heart. As he sat in the empty room, his mind echoed with Hunk’s advice from all those weeks ago; if he ever felt a moment was right, he should follow his gut. After spending all this time with Shiro, Lance couldn't help but wonder if his crush wasn't so one-sided after all. 

He made his way back to the bedroom, gathering some stuff before heading to the bathroom. He used the monotony of his nightly routine to calmly process his thoughts. He had to be sure he was reading the situation right, and not just seeing what he wanted to see. Lance splashed his face with cold water and took a few steadying breaths before heading back into the room. Shiro was still asleep where Lance had tossed him on top of the covers. Ever so gently, Lance removed Shiro’s shoes, and tried his best to get him under the covers.

Tucked in as well as he could be, Lance climbed over to his spot and got comfortable. He rolled onto his side and watched Shiro sleep, convincing himself that it wasn’t totally creepy. He just kind of wanted to take some time to really look at him, y’know? He studied his strong jawline, the way his dark lashes fluttered as he dreamed; he took time to really look at the scar running across his nose, took the time to admire the shock of white bangs that fell softly onto his face.

As he watched, he noticed Shiro becoming slightly more restless. It looked like he was having a nightmare. Lance wondered if it would be appropriate to try and wake him up or not, but the decision was made for him soon enough. He startled a bit when Shiro suddenly sat up, breathing heavy. He blinked the sleep from his eyes, looking sort of lost, and Lance fought the urge to reach out and touch him. But Shiro seemed to come back to himself, breathing deeply and relaxing his posture. Then he tore off his shirt, still a bit drunk Lance guessed, and clumsily removed his prosthetic before promptly passing back out. 

Lance let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He continued to watch Shiro sleep, watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, watched the tension in his face relax. He wondered if Shiro often had nightmares. He wondered if they had to do with the crash that had taken his arm. He didn’t know much about it, just that it had happened when Shiro was younger. Lance frowned. He realized just how little he actually knew about Shiro. 

It hit him then, how badly he wanted to know everything about this man. It hit him, how badly he wanted to fall in love with him.

\---

Shiro felt that at some point, he’d lost control of the situation, and could do nothing but watch as everything slowly went downhill. The first real mistake, he concluded, was his decision to consume alcohol last night. He really should’ve known better, but he let his guard down and went overboard. Not only was he a complete lightweight, but alcohol also didn’t react very well with his anxiety issues. He couldn’t remember much of last night beyond waking up and bringing himself down from a near panic attack; he just prayed Lance had been asleep for that, he’d been too out of it to check.

Nevertheless, he powered through their awkward morning, filled with too many bashful glances to be a coincidence. He’d definitely made a fool of himself last night, he just knew it. He only hoped the hype of Disneyland would be able to distract them enough to enjoy themselves. And it worked, for a while at least. 

Sure, Shiro had been sort of spacey for the first couple hours, caught up in trying to pull himself out of his headspace and into the present. For what it was worth, Lance seemed to sense something was off and was being awfully understanding. It made Shiro fall that much more for the guy. He was beginning to feel like everything would work out again and that they would have fun. That was, until the second disaster struck. Until they got trapped on the “It’s a Small World” ride for almost an hour.

The worst part of that ordeal? The music just wouldn’t stop playing. Maybe being trapped on a ride with the guy he’d been crushing on for months would’ve almost been romantic, but no, not this time. This time, they were trapped in a small tunnel with crying children and a song that Shiro had never considered _that_ annoying, until now. Lance had laughed it off, of course, bless his good nature. But as the day wore on, Shiro couldn’t seem to catch a break.

It was just little things that kept happening. Like, some kid spilling a slurpee on Shiro’s pants, or how, for some reason, people kept stepping on his feet in nearly every line. Small things like that, things that usually wouldn’t bother him so much. But Shiro was already in such a bad mindset that even things he could normally laugh off were starting to stress him out. The last thing he wanted was to ruin Lance’s day, and so he just powered through and hoped for the best. He just had to make it to the end of the day, just keep up a good energy until it came time for him to finally confess and ask Lance to be his boyfriend.

That thought was enough to make Shiro giddy with nervous energy. No matter how much misfortune met him that day, he'd find the will to persevere. Lance was worth it. So no matter how many people stepped on his toes or cut him in line, he'd made sure to always smile when Lance looked his way. 

He was adamant not to fuck things up… until he _did_ fuck things up, and royally so. Of all the mistakes and misfortune Shiro had met that day, the greatest fuck up came as a surprise: he didn't kiss Lance back. At least, not soon enough. 

The day was winding down, and Shiro was cheering internally that he'd survived this long. As evening fell, they grabbed a quick dinner at one of the many cafes in the park. By the time they finished, Shiro estimated they had about 30 minutes left until the parade started. He began to make his way back into the theme park when Lance stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. 

“Hey Shiro, why don't we just go back to the hotel early? It's been a long day,” Lance had insisted, watching him with worried eyes. 

“I'm fine Lance, don't worry. Plus it's almost time for the parade. I'd like to watch it, if that's alright?” He tried for a gentle smile. 

“Yeah, yeah that's fine. I like the parade. Just wanted to make sure you feel okay.” Lance looked away bashfully. 

God, Shiro was so enamored. 

“I'm fine, really. I'd like to share this experience with you. My first American Disney parade.” He chuckled and Lance laughed with him. 

They needed to see the parade. They needed to be there during the fireworks. That was the _plan._

They made their way to Main Street, securing a good spot to watch the parade. The area was already crowded with families and children, but they managed to squeeze in by a light pole. Shiro tried to focus on the music and fancy floats, and _not_ on the way Lance’s body felt pressed against his. 

Part way through the parade, Shiro startled at something. Lance was holding his hand. Lance, right now at this moment, had moved that much closer and had taken hold of his hand. This was _not_ according to plan, but Shiro felt a rush of warmth to his chest. Instinct thankfully took over and he moved to intertwine their fingers, biting back a giddy smile. 

Holding hands, he could do. Bodies pressed together, he could also do. _Apparently_ the place where Shiro drew the line was this: him turning to Lance, ready to ask him to follow him somewhere more private to discuss their feelings. Instead, he turned and Lance was already facing him, leaning in and then lips were on his. 

Oh God, was Lance _kissing him?_

Shiro struggled to bring his brain back online, freezing upon contact and not ready to react. His stillness must've been interpreted as something else, because all too soon Lance was backing away, muttering an apology before disappearing into the crowd. It was then that Shiro realized his error: when it truly counted, he froze up instead of following his heart. 

He scanned the crowd, frantically searching the area Lance had disappeared into. He'd fucked up big time, he knew it. And so he stopped thinking so much and followed his gut. 

He ran.

\---

“I'm so stupid, _stupid_ , how could you be so stupid?”

Lance kept mumbling to himself, fighting hard against the tears that threatened to fall as he ran. As he ran further from Shiro and all the mistakes he'd made. Namely, the mistake of _kissing Shiro in the middle of the parade_. He stopped running, working to catch his breathe and blink past tears. 

He just… he'd been so _sure_ they were having a moment. He decided to trust his gut and just go for it, just let go and do what felt right. And in that moment, kissing Shiro had been the only thing on his mind. After spending the day trading shy glances, coy touches… after holding hands for more than half the parade. Yeah, Lance had felt a little too confident in believing Shiro might return his feelings. 

Obviously, he'd been wrong. 

He'd been wrong, judging by the way Shiro froze as their lips met. He'd been wrong, judging by the way Shiro had stared at him, utterly bewildered, as he backed away from the impromptu kiss. He'd been _wrong_ , and it might've just cost him an important friendship. It might've just cost him _Shiro_ , and God, Lance had never wanted to lose him. 

He choked in a stuttered breath, trying desperately to steady himself. Alright, so he'd read the signals wrong and Shiro had rejected him. It wasn't the end of the world, right? He could move past this. Surely there was something of their friendship he could salvage. He just… Lance just needed a moment to compose himself. 

He stared up at the building in front of him. Somehow, he'd managed to sprint all the way to Sleeping Beauty’s castle. He quirked a smile, staring up at the iconic structure. Sometimes people didn't always get their fairytale endings. Lance had dreamed too big, and it hurt that much more to fall. 

He stared up at the castle, taking deep breaths to try and ground himself. He was so focused on breathing in and out that he didn't hear the distant footsteps. Footsteps that grew closer by the second, until they suddenly stopped and Lance wasn’t alone with his thoughts anymore. His shoulders tensed up but he forced himself to turn around and face the consequences of his actions. 

Shiro stood a short distance away, panting as if he’d been running. Lance’s gut twisted with guilt at the realization that he’d made Shiro run after him, like some horribly cheesy cliche. He took a deep breath and approached his friend, hoping there weren’t any stray tears left on his face. Shiro stood still and watched him approach with an unreadable expression. Lance just had to get it over with, just apologize for his actions and hope for the best. 

“Listen, Shiro, I’m sorry-”

He started to apologize, his voice shaking slightly, when Shiro stepped forward quickly, grabbing his shoulders and stunning him into silence.

“No, Lance, listen to me first,” he spoke quickly, as if Lance would run away again; little did he know, Lance felt glued to the spot, losing himself in Shiro’s wide eyes. “Don’t say sorry, please, it was me that messed up.”

Lance tensed up under Shiro’s touch, bracing himself for the inevitable blow to his heart. That was such a classic line, the perfect way to segway into the “it’s not you, it’s me” speech. Lance really didn’t want to hear that right now, but Shiro’s hands only gripped him tighter, holding him in place. He looked away from those wide, grey eyes, hoping it would hurt less that way.

“You see, I had this _plan_ okay? And when things didn’t happen how I imagined I kind of froze up, but I didn’t… I didn’t mean to, really I didn’t.” Shiro explained in an almost frantic tone.

Well, that certainly wasn’t what he expected to hear. He looked up in confusion, taken aback by the desperate look in Shiro’s eyes.

“Shiro…” He breathed out, but Shiro wasn’t done speaking yet.

“Look, I was going to ask you to talk somewhere private because I had something important to ask you.” 

Shiro released one of Lance’s shoulders to dig for something in his pocket. Lance furrowed his brow in confusion, caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events. His heart hammered away in his chest, his palms getting sweaty. All of his senses went into overdrive when he saw Shiro pull something sparkly out of his pocket.

“Shiro, what-” Lance choked on his words, trying desperately to squash the hope flooding his heart.

Shiro smiled nervously, opening his hand to reveal a pair of matching necklaces. They were those extremely cheesy type of necklaces, the kind where each person got a half of a heart. There was something written on them, probably some equally cheesy line from a movie, but Lance couldn’t read it to save his life. His mind was completely blanked out, it was a miracle he remembered to keep breathing as he waited for an explanation.

“Lance, I was going to ask…” Shiro stepped that much closer, meeting Lance’s gaze nervously as he held out one half of the heart necklaces. “I was wondering, if you’d be mine?”

Shiro asked so seriously, so sincerely… but Lance couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up in his throat. It was partly due to relief, but mostly due to the “be mine” line; jeez, how much cheesier could this moment possibly get? So, he let himself laugh, but not before grabbing Shiro’s hand and burying his face in the man’s chest. He felt the moment Shiro let himself relax, wrapping his other arm around Lance in a tight embrace.

Once his laugh died down into sparse giggles, Lance pulled back and gave Shiro the brightest smile. He took the necklace and quickly secured it around his neck. When he looked back up, Shiro was watching him like he was something precious, and it gave Lance the courage he needed to answer with his own sappy confession.

“Yeah, I’m yours. As long as you’ll have me, I’m yours.”

It was cliche and horrible, but damn if Lance didn’t mean it. His smiled softened as Shiro pressed that much closer. His eyes slipped shut as a warm hand came up to cradle his face. He swore he could feel fireworks in his chest when their lips finally met. When his eyes fluttered open, however, he realized it was _actual_ fireworks he was feeling, and he smiled at the picture perfect scene. Shiro, silhouetted by the castle and fireworks, staring at him with the fondest expression. 

Lance wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck and pulled him down for another kiss. He supposed dreams really did come true. And if this was a dream, then he never wanted to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANKS to everyone who gave this a read & left such nice comments! Hope you enjoyed it!! 
> 
> Again, here's the amazing art by my artists for this bang! Support their art by giving it a reblog on tumblr~
> 
> [ pieces by acequeenm](https://acequeenm-art.tumblr.com/post/167148475197/as-long-as-youll-have-me-im-yours-my-piece) (they did a drawing of the necklaces too they're so cute!!)
> 
> (still pending on nathengyn's pieces ^^ she's had some IRL conflicts, but they'll be up soon!)
> 
> you can find me on tumblr also @fratboyshiro
> 
> keep ur eyes peeled bc this story isn't near finished yet! i have soooo many side stories i wanna write in this au, some stuff that were scenes i had to cut out, some epilogue stuff, but primarily, the heith side story is itching to be written....so if u like yourself some heith, stay tuned!!


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